


Across the Cosmos: Devouring Time

by spirithorse



Series: Across the Cosmos [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh
Genre: Adventure, M/M, Sci-Fi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-09
Updated: 2010-12-07
Packaged: 2017-10-13 13:00:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 35
Words: 258,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/137641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spirithorse/pseuds/spirithorse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. Think you've seen everything? Think again. The continued adventures Yugi Mutou through time and space. Based on the BBC series Doctor Who. Spoiler warning for season 2 of Doctor Who.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Sacrifice

**Author's Note:**

> **Author's Note:** Alright, the sequel to _Across the Cosmos: The Nameless Pharaoh._ Sorry it took so long, but these always take a while to write. Just a few things for you to know. I'm trying out longer chapters for this one because, honestly, the shorter chapters that I used in the first one annoyed me. Second, to establish the time of the modern day stuff, this is taking place in 2007. The first one took place in 2005/2006 (seeing as Yugi was gone for a whole year) so, hopefully that clears things up. And, I really hope you enjoy reading this. It's been a pleasure to write so I hope it's a pleasure to read. The title is taken from Shakespeare's sonnet number 19.
> 
> Also, this work has about 34 chapters. I don't know why it keeps saying that it's complete, but it's not. Just wait until it hits around 34 to start worrying about an ending.

**Author's Note:** Alright, the sequel to _Across the Cosmos: The Nameless Pharaoh._ Sorry it took so long, but these always take a while to write. Just a few things for you to know. I'm trying out longer chapters for this one because, honestly, the shorter chapters that I used in the first one annoyed me. Second, to establish the time of the modern day stuff, this is taking place in 2007. The first one took place in 2005/2006 (seeing as Yugi was gone for a whole year) so, hopefully that clears things up. And, I really hope you enjoy reading this. It's been a pleasure to write so I hope it's a pleasure to read. The title is taken from Shakespeare's sonnet number 19.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or Doctor Who, they are both owned by their respective owners. What few original characters are in here are mine.

 **Warnings:** lemon

 ****

* * *

 **Across the Cosmos: Devouring Time**

 **Prologue: Sacrifice**

" _A man who could change his face. And he took me away from home in his magical machine._ _"_

-Rose Tyler

"Ow." The Pharaoh heard the sound of his companion moving and the softly breathed out word, shivering as every sound seemed too loud. His body was working overtime to prevent itself from falling apart, his senses fading in and out. Honestly, he was surprised that he had lasted this long. He had expected to be torn apart sooner than this. But this was good. Maybe he would get a chance to explain.

"So, you're awake." Yugi looked up slowly at him, the Pharaoh not moving from his place by the console; it was the only thing holding him up right now. "Good. Remember anything?"

"Remember…" Yugi pushed himself off the chair, swaying as he tried to gain his balance, a frown crossing his face. The Pharaoh was tempted to push off the console and try to stagger over to him when Yugi's eyes widened, the Time Lord deciding to take that as a good sign.

Yugi stared off into space for a while before cautiously offering a question. "Singing?"

The Pharaoh laughed, ignoring Yugi's scowl. His companion pouted for a moment before speaking again. "The Daleks?"

"Gone. I finished them off." The Pharaoh glanced over at Yugi, intending to explain more when he was distracted by a flash of gold on his hand. He looked down at the hand, staring at it as he watched the golden light move through his veins, shuddering with the realization of what that meant. Time was no longer his ally.

"Alright," the Pharaoh looked up at Yugi as he turned around, "I'll bite. How did I get back here?"

"Yugi…" He opened his mouth to say more, watching his companion turn around. And, suddenly, he couldn't do it. He couldn't tell Yugi what was about to happen. Not now. He slumped a bit before shaking his head, staring back down at the console. "How does Barcelona sound? The planet, not the city?"

"Since when do you ask me where we go?"

The Pharaoh rolled his eyes. "Since this is a special occasion. You don't defeat a whole fleet of Daleks everyday."

"You did that." The Pharaoh shook his head before he began to move around the console, setting the coordinates for the planet. He heard Yugi cautiously approach him, not sure how to take that movement. In the end, he decided to ignore it, his resolve breaking as Yugi spoke to him. "Pharaoh?"

He turned to give Yugi a smile, not expecting his companion to back up until he was forced to stop by one of the pillars. "What's wrong?"

"I can't smile?"

"You normally don't."

The Pharaoh rolled his eyes. "That shows how well you know me."

He was sure that Yugi was going to retort, his attention taken away from his companion as pain rolled through him. He bit his lip as the pain grew worse, clutching at his stomach and stumbling back. The Pharaoh didn't realize that he had closed his eyes until he bumped into the railing, leaning against it for support. From behind his closed eyes, he saw the flare of light, flinching.

No, he needed more time. He needed to at least begin to explain to Yugi what was going on. He tried to push himself more upright, slowly beginning to open his eyes. He could last until things were explained to Yugi.

"Pharaoh!" His attention was caught as his companion lunged toward him, the Pharaoh afraid of what would happen if he lost control of the regeneration while Yugi was too close.

"No." Yugi stumbled to a stop at the order, the Pharaoh gasping for breath. He stared at the ground for a moment before looking over at Yugi, hating that the young man suddenly looked so lost. "Don't come any closer."

"But…you're hurt. How can I help?"

"I've got it under control." The Pharaoh had unwrapped one arm from his stomach, using it to keep him upright by holding onto the railing.

"No you don't. Come on, we'll get you to the med-room and we'll have you looked over."

"It wouldn't help." The Pharaoh gasped the words out, a sweat breaking out on his face.

"Then what can I do?"

"Stay back."

He could feel Yugi staring at him, wanting nothing more than to wrap his arms around his companion and reassure Yugi that everything would be alright. That he would be able to fix this. "W-what happened?"

"I-" The Pharaoh cut himself off to take a deep breath of air, gritting his teeth. "I absorbed the time vortex. It's burning up every cell in my body."

"You-you're dying?" The Pharaoh nodded, Yugi shaking his head at the motion. "You can't do that!"

"Yugi-"

"There has to be something! You're the last of your kind!"

The Pharaoh looked up at Yugi, studying his companion. He would make this regeneration right. Even though he had never had any control over these changes, he would try and change into someone that Yugi could be comfortable with. Yugi deserved the best. "I'm working on it, but it's a difficult process."

"Process?"

"Regeneration. It means…" He trailed off, his time was completely up now, he could no longer hold back the change and expect to live through it. The Pharaoh gave a small shake of his head, trying to smile for his companion, the last smile that Yugi would ever see from this man. "I'll see you around, Yugi."

"Pharaoh…" Yugi stared at him before nodding, giving his own smile. The Pharaoh relaxed a bit, Yugi still trusted him, even with all of this going on. "See you."

They stared at each other for a moment, the Pharaoh trying to memorize every aspect of Yugi. And, suddenly, he was jealous of the man that he was going to become. _This_ him would never hold Yugi as anything more than a friend. _This_ him would never admit that he was in love with the brilliant human, because he was too scarred from the Time War. _This_ him had given up everything for Yugi, and the next him would just get to reap the rewards.

And then, there was no more time for thought.

His head was forced backwards from the sheer force behind the power that rolled through him, golden light pouring from his hands and around his head. The Pharaoh had no chance to scream, and no breath because his bones were reforming, cracking a twisting to become something new. The regeneration energy whipped through his body, quickly and efficiently making the necessary changes before dissipating, leaving the Pharaoh to stand straight as gasp for air, breathing with his new lungs for the first time.

Curious about what he had regenerated into, his focus being entirely on Yugi the whole time, he stared down at himself, a bit disappointed at first that he was shorter than before. But, it didn't really matter in the long run. He stared at his hand for a moment before looking over at Yugi, giving his companion a smile. And it felt good to do that, all the memories of the Time War feeling a bit more faded, more removed from him. They were still there and tangible, but they weren't always pressing at the forefront of his mind. "Alright then, where were we heading?"

He glanced over at the console, his brain taking a few moments to recover from the sudden transformation and the surge of regeneration that had just left, leaving his most recent memories a bit fuzzy. He frowned for a moment before the expression disappeared, his brain returning back to working order. "Oh, I remember, Barcelona."

The Pharaoh walked over to the console, staring at the view screen before nodding. He had done a good job setting the coordinates, now there were only minor adjustments to be made. He went to move around the console, his feet tangling up in the trench coat. That was one bad thing about this new self, all his clothes were literally hanging off of him. He kicked the trench coat out of his way once before growling and nearly tearing it off.

He stared at it for a while before throwing it over the captain's chair, looking forward to getting out of these clothes. Underneath the trench coat, it was still the uniform of a solider, something that could easily be kept clean and simple. He was a soldier no longer.

The Pharaoh began to move around again, pausing as he felt Yugi's gaze on him. He had ignored the stare most of the time because he knew he looked different, but he was giving time for Yugi to adjust. Still, there was something off about that stare. He stood up and tipped his head slightly to one side. "Yugi?"

He tried to contain his surprise at the deep voice that rumbled out, not expecting that. He hadn't really paid attention to his voice before, too busy making sure that they wouldn't crash into something so soon after his regeneration. But now that he heard it, it was amazing that he could sound like that; especially in such a small body.

He pushed away from the console when Yugi didn't say anything, smiling as he approached him. The Pharaoh thought he saw his companion tense, not liking the look of fear that ran across Yugi's face. He stopped in front of Yugi, unable to stop himself from reaching out and cupping Yugi's cheek with one of his hands. There was nothing to stop him from touching Yugi now; this body had been made for Yugi. "Yugi, what's wrong?"

"Who-who are you?"

The Pharaoh stared at him for a moment before shaking his head. "Don't you know?"

"N-no."

"Yugi," he gave a short laugh, confused when Yugi tensed at the sound. "I'm the Pharaoh."

He remained by Yugi for a while longer before he stepped away to care for the TARDIS, slowing his movements as he saw Yugi sink to the ground, the young man curling up on himself. The Pharaoh paused, watching his companion with concern as Yugi began to tremble. He gave the TARDIS one last look over, sure that they wouldn't be crashing into something before walking back over to kneel by Yugi's side, resting a hand on his companion's shoulder. "Yugi?"

Yugi tensed for a moment before he jerked his shoulder away, rolling on the grating until he was away from the Pharaoh. The Time Lord blinked in confusion as Yugi rose to his feet, still shaking as he pointed at him. "You are _not_ the Pharaoh! I don't know what you are or where you came from, but you _are not_ the Pharaoh!"

He stood up slowly, watching as Yugi began to back away from him, keeping the console between him. The Pharaoh kept himself from leaping around the console with sheer force of will, wanting nothing more than to go over and hold Yugi close. "I can explain."

"Where is he? What did you do to my Pharaoh?" The slip up made his hearts beat faster, hope surging through him; Yugi thought of him as his. And he was willing to allow that possession.

He forced himself to stop moving, making eye contact with Yugi. It was time to set things straight between the two of them, because this was hurting them both. The Pharaoh shifted slightly, leaning forward so he could place his hands on the edge of the console, flinching as Yugi took a step back. "I swear that it is me, Yugi. You saw what happened."

"I…I…I don't know what I saw."

"That was the process that I was talking about." He watched his companion shiver, shaking his head before looking down at his hands. He had come this far, he didn't want to lose Yugi now. "I was dying, remember?"

"Y-yes." The choked answer came back, the Pharaoh looking up at his companion to see that the young man was shaking. "Wh-what did you do to him? If…if you can save him, can you bring him back, please. I don't…I don't…"

"Yugi," the Pharaoh moved around the console, glad when the young man didn't move away from him again, "it's me."

"It can't-"

He stared at his companion for a while before smiling, slowly inching forward as Yugi was held in place by indecision. He knew what he would say to convince Yugi he was telling the truth. The Pharaoh tried to appear as nonthreatening as possible, slowly reaching out for one of Yugi's hands, which dangled limp by his side. "I can prove it, Yugi. When we first met, you were in the basement of a store, surrounded by mannequins."

The Pharaoh paused, slowly slipping his hand into Yugi's relaxing when the young man didn't flinch, just kept staring at him. "I took your hand and I told you to run."

There was a flicker of recognition in Yugi's eyes, the young man licking his lips before whispering, "Pharaoh."

"Yes?"

"Why…"

"Why what?"

"Why did you change?"

"I told you."

Yugi looked down at their hands, the Pharaoh reluctant to let go. It felt so good to be in contact with someone again, and he could actually let himself this time. He watched Yugi carefully, looking for any signs that the young man would want him to let go, relieved when Yugi just looked back up at him. "You said that you were dying…and then this happened."

"It's called regeneration. I can cheat death by changing every cell in my body, I may look and sound different, but I'm still the same." The Pharaoh forced himself to stop there. There was no need to explain the _feeling_ that the old him had died, he was just focused on trying to calm his companion down. They could always discuss this more when they were thinking straight.

Yugi bit his lip, rubbing his thumb over the back of the Pharaoh's hand, the Time Lord tensing a bit as his skin tingled with that move. He was still extremely sensitive from his regeneration, even just holding Yugi's hand making him shiver. The Pharaoh shook his head, forcing himself to focus on what was going on instead of allowing his mind to drift off. He focused on Yugi as the young man finally looked up at him again. "Can you change back?"

Those simple words shattered his whole world. The Pharaoh stared at him for a while, trying to force himself to say something, to tell Yugi the truth. But nothing would come out. He was too shocked by the simple question. He had never thought, even with that reaction, that Yugi would say something like that.

He nearly fell over when Yugi let go of his hand, leaning to catch himself on the console as his hearts began to pound. Did this mean what he thought it did? Did this mean that this great adventure, this wonderful time, this second chance was over? The Pharaoh swallowed, carefully standing up straight and looking at Yugi, aware that the young man was about to start apologizing.

"No. I can't."

"Oh." Yugi slumped, the Pharaoh turning his head and wanting to curse. Of course he would do something like this, of course he would mess this up. He would always forget that the humans couldn't see him as the same man with a different face, at least not at first. But, with everything that Yugi had come to mean to him, it hurt more than it should. He could always blame regeneration for his overreactions to everything, but something told him that Yugi would always feel this way.

He ran a trembling hand over his face before pushing away from the console, turning to look at Yugi. "Do you want to go back?"

"Do you want me to leave?" Yugi gasped and covered his mouth, blushing at his outburst.

The Pharaoh shook his head, stepping forward. "Of course not. But I could always take you home, just for a bit."

Yugi looked relieved by that, the Pharaoh knowing that he had done something good by offering to take his companion home. They both just needed a little time to adjust to their new situation. Maybe, once Yugi got over the shock, he could explain this whole thing better and they could get on with their lives.

"Yeah," Yugi gave a shaky sigh, "if you don't mind."

"Not at all." The Pharaoh walked around the console, frowning a bit as he realized that he was not just shaky from the threat of rejection. He shook the worry off quickly, probably a bit of weakness left over from regeneration. He reached across the console, quickly changing the coordinates on the console, moving around. "Home for Christmas, Yugi?"

It was the most glorious sight that he had seen in a long while, a brilliant smile from Yugi. He couldn't help but smile at him before quickly resetting the coordinates, holding onto the console as the TARDIS pitched as she changed directions. Yugi glanced up at the ceiling before glancing back at the Pharaoh, the smile still on his face. "Will I be able to convince you to stay for dinner this time?"

"No need to convince me."

Yugi tipped his head to the side and gave a short laugh. "Wow, that's one major change. You're a bit more personable."

"Well," the Pharaoh shrugged, "I want to make a good impression on your mother this time. Anyway, I think we need a good celebration. Between those games and the Daleks a feast sounds-GAH!"

He tipped forward, one hand clinging to the console as the other one went up to his head, burying itself in his hair. He trembled in place before looked up at Yugi, the pain that was thrumming through his body, making his head pound. His vision blurred for a moment, the Pharaoh seeing Yugi start forward. The next thing he felt was Yugi's hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

The Pharaoh gritted his teeth against the pain, his breath catching as he felt something forcing itself up through his body, shaking until he had to exhale, golden light pouring from his mouth and disappearing, the Pharaoh staring at it before stumbling a bit away from Yugi, wrapping his arms around himself. His companion followed him, his purple eyes wide. Yugi was probably afraid that he would change again. The Pharaoh shook his head, trying to clear up his thoughts, nearly growling when they refused to come into a coherent order. "The…it's going wrong."

"Wrong?"

"Nothing horrible. It's just," the Pharaoh fell to his knees, gasping for air while resting his forehead against the console, "my head."

"Listen, you need help. Let's go back. We can get Duke."

He looked up at Yugi at the mention of Duke, trying to remember why he couldn't in the first place. But all he could think about was how wrong it was. Everything around Duke was wrong. Or was Duke himself wrong? He couldn't think straight. The Pharaoh groaned, his eyes focusing on a switch, resting his fingers on it while tipping his head to the side. It had been a long time since he had used this one. "No. He's busy rebuilding the Earth."

He flicked the switch, scrambling back to his feet as the TARDIS began to rock more violently, Yugi thrown back against one of the columns. He flashed a smile at his companion, suddenly needing to get more speed out of his ship. He could still remember the times that he and the TARDIS had raced through the galaxy at high speeds, moving through meteor showers without getting a scratch on them. He wanted to feel that speed, ignoring the frantic nudging at his mind from the TARDIS. He shook his head, before reaching for another switch. "Come on. I know that we can go faster than this. How about it, Yugi?"

The young man jumped at being suddenly addressed, licking his lips. The Pharaoh suddenly found himself focused on his companion, wanting nothing more than to lean forward and capture those lips. To kiss Yugi and then drag him closer so they were pressed up against each other. To never let Yugi go again, to show the whole universe that the human was _his_ , his and his alone.

His train of thoughts was cut off by the ominous ringing of a bell that echoed through the console room, the Pharaoh glancing back towards the interior of the TARDIS, knowing that his ship was trying to warn him of the approaching danger, but he just couldn't bring himself to care. He needed this speed, needed to keep moving. He needed to feel free and distance himself from that sense of wrong that was still echoing in his mind.

"W-what's that?" The Pharaoh looked over at Yugi at the question, his companion still clinging to one of the columns.

"Cloister bell."

"Cloister bell?"

"It's a warning."

Yugi stared at him for a long time, seeming to think something over before finally speaking again. "A warning of what?"

The Pharaoh beamed at Yugi, watching his companion hesitantly return the smile before the young man remembered what the smile had meant. The Time Lord chuckled before focusing on the coordinates, glad that they were still on course. He glanced back up at Yugi, the insane smile still on his face. "Crash landings."

 __

* * *

 _Please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome._


	2. Prologue: Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Chapter One: The Christmas Invasion**

**Chapter One: The Christmas Invasion**

" _Doctor? Are you out there? We need you. I don't know what to do ... Help us, Doctor, please, help us._ _"  
_ _-Harriet Jones_

"I got it!" Junri looked up from her wrapping, smiling as Joey finished putting the lights back up, stepping down from the chair that he had been using as a step stool and gesturing at the lights that ran around the room. "Perfect! I doubt that they'll fall down again."

Junri laughed before finishing up the last present, the smile on her face dying. She brushed her fingers over the name carefully written onto the tag, wondering if her son would even make it home for Christmas. For all she knew, she would be putting unopened presents into his room for the rest of her life. Junri sniffed, shaking her head and trying to hold back the tears. She was trying so hard to be strong, not to break down into tears every time she remembered that her baby was out there in space. But it was hard when he would only call every once and a while, the calls sometimes coming months apart. She guessed that he called her after every adventure with down time, but it was still worrying that the phone calls were so spread out in her time line.

She jumped slightly as she felt Joey rest a hand on her shoulder, hesitating before kneeling down beside her. "Hey, it'll be alright. He's fine."

"We haven't seen him since the TARDIS disappeared. And we don't even know if that plan of his worked."

"You know Yugi; he would have made it work in the end. I'm sure that he and the Pharaoh are safe." Joey laughed and sat on the floor, shaking his head. "If anything, Yugi would have saved the Pharaoh and the poor alien is too embarrassed to let him out of the TARDIS. Yugi probably has to convince him to do anything."

Junri smiled, glad that Joey was around to keep her spirits up. When the TARDIS had suddenly disappeared like that, she had been worried. And no word had come from Yugi since then, so they only knew what he had told them. It had sounded like Yugi was heading directly into a war zone, which made Junri worry even more. But she had to be content with his decision; after all, Yugi was his own man now.

She sighed and pushed her hair out of her face, picking up the presents and getting up to stick them under the worn tree; the fake tree formerly owned by Sugoroku Mutou. Her fingers lingered on Yugi's present for a moment longer before she went to sit on the sofa, staring at the small tree that they had. Yugi had always loved Christmas; he loved the lights that went up all over the city. She sighed and picked up her cup of tea, staring at the tree.

Her attention was caught as she saw Joey shift on the floor, the blonde giving a happy sigh and laying back on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. The blonde was a boon to her, Joey over almost all the time when he got off of work. She had become a second mother to the young man, his own mother living far off with his sister, both of them having cut off all communication with him after they had heard that he had been accused of murder. Junri felt that she had to make it up to him because she hadn't believed him, but it was nice to have someone around.

It was easy to get lost in the monotony of life without someone there, something that Junri guessed that Yugi had fallen to. He had just shuffled through his life, losing his spark when he didn't have the time to spend with his friends anymore, which why she didn't begrudge him the chance to go out into the universe. Yugi had to get the chance to be young at least once in his life. Besides, she had her friends and Joey to keep her company and her new job to keep her busy. She was even thinking about dating again, just to see if there was anyone out there that she would like, someone to keep her company when Joey moved on.

"So, have you talked to that cute girl behind the counter at your job?"

Joey looked over at her and blushed before shaking his head. "No."

"Joey, the world isn't going to end just because Mai dumped you. That was the stupidest move in her entire life, doing that."

"I know, but I'm just not ready yet."

"Joey, I've been telling myself that for years. You don't want to end up like me, do you?"

He laughed at that, rolling over to his side and staring at her for a while before shaking his head. "Nah, I've got a good feeling about this year though. If that feeling doesn't go through, then I'll start looking, promise. It'll take a lot more than one setback to keep Joey Wheeler from anything."

"Glad to hear that." They settled back into companionable silence, Junri contemplating asking Joey how to make fried chicken, the blonde having lived in America for a few years. Both of them sat up straight suddenly as they heard a familiar sound. Joey and Junri exchanged a surprised look before they moved, Joey scrambling up from his place on the floor as Junri set her cup of tea on the table, the both of them rushing for the door.

Joey yanked the door open, Junri following him out and shutting it behind her, not bothering to lock it this one time. The two bolted down the stairs and into the lot below the apartments, looking towards the usual landing spot of the TARDIS and frowning when the blue box didn't appear there. She turned in place, watching as Joey wandered off towards one end of the lot. They had both heard it, there was no mistaking that sound, but where was it?

Their attention was attracted by the sound of something ripping, both of them turning and then falling to the ground as the sky seemed to open up above them, Junri catching a swirl of blue before the TARDIS sailed over them, knocking into another apartment complex before skidding along the asphalt before rocking to a halt, looking like it was going to fall over for one moment before righting itself. Junri and Joey exchanged a look of surprise before hurrying over to the blue box.

Junri was debating knocking on the door when it swung inwards, someone stumbling out to lean against the frame, gripping the edge of the TARDIS tightly, like it was the only thing keeping him upright. Junri gasped as she recognized the person the next minute, there was no one else who could have that hair. It was the Mutou hair, red at the tips of the spikes before it changed to black, jagged blonde bangs framing her son's face.

Then her son looked up, Junri taking a step back when she realized that she had been wrong. This man wasn't her son. This man was tanned with high cheek bones, a look that resembled no one in their family. His hair had a few more blonde streaks in the black and his eyes…Junri shuddered, wanting to take a step back. His eyes were red.

The man looked at both of them, frowning for a moment before smiling, pushing away from the door frame, wobbling a bit before stepping out of the TARDIS, the black clothes that he had on hanging over his frame. The man glanced back inside the TARDIS, seeming to reassure himself about something before giving a laugh. "I told you that we would get back alright. See, Junri and Joey are here."

He turned back around to look at them, tipping his head to the side, blinking in confusion before shaking his head. "I suppose I should wish you both a Merry Christmas but…" The man's eyes went unfocused for a moment before they rolled back in his head, the man collapsing forward.

Junri found that she couldn't move, staring at the man as Joey lunged forward to catch him, carefully lowering the man to the ground before staring at him. The blonde stayed kneeling on the ground, shaking his head in awe. "Is this…Yug'?"

"I-" Junri looked up at the surprised gasp, relaxing when her son walked out of the time machine, immediately kneeling down next to the strange man. She watched him brush the blonde bangs out of the man's face, biting his lip as he rocked back on his heels to look at the both of them. Junri knelt down beside her son, resting her hand on his shoulder. "Who is he? Where's the Pharaoh?"

She regretted asking him that, Yugi's eyes threatening to fill with tears before he shook his head, returning his gaze to the man who was splayed out on the street. "This is the Pharaoh."

"The Pharaoh?" Joey spoke up, glancing between the man and Yugi before shaking his head. "You must have hit your head, buddy. The Pharaoh was all tall, cold and stuffy. This guy is-"

"He _is_ the Pharaoh." Yugi shook, wrapping his arms around himself. "I saw him…he did something…"

"Let's get you inside." Junri gently pulled Yugi to his feet, astonished when he turned to her and hugged her close, still trembling. Junri swallowed nervously before motioning for Joey to pick up the man on the ground. The blonde nodded, scooping the man up and heading back for the apartment, Junri hesitating before running her hands through Yugi's hair. The motion encouraged him to raise his head, Junri smiling before kissing his forehead. "Come on Yugi."

He nodded, pulling away from her to rush back into the TARDIS, emerging with the familiar long white trench coat before he shut the door; shuffling after her, his gaze fixed to the ground. Junri bit her lip to keep from commenting, allowing Yugi his moment. She would get the whole story out of him eventually. For now, she thought it best if she just remained silent. Besides, it was not in her to look at this as trouble. Yugi was back in time for Christmas and safely in one piece, which meant that all her worries of her son being torn apart or riddled with bullets in a war in the far future could be laid aside until he started to travel again.

She opened the door to the apartment, watching Yugi perk up a bit as he noticed the old tree at the lights strung up, her son turning in place before looking back at her. "When is it?"

"December 23, 2006." Junri smiled. "The same year you left."

"Alright." Yugi nodded slowly, a smile crossing his face. "He actually managed to get us somewhere without making a mistake. Amazing, especially…"

Yugi trailed off, going silent again. Junri sighed and walked over to her son, hugging him as Joey appeared from Yugi's bedroom, looking sheepish. "Sorry, it was the only place I could think of."

"That's fine, Joey." Yugi pulled out of her embrace, shuffling towards his room. "I'll just change him into pajamas and we'll wait this thing out."

Junri and Joey stared after Yugi as he disappeared, the door slamming shut behind him. Joey shook his head, moving out of the small hallway and flopping down on the couch. "Man, whatever Yugi went back to sure did a number on him."

"It did." Junri glanced at the door before sitting on the arm of the sofa, ignoring the fact that she had yelled at Yugi many times when he was younger for doing the same thing. "We just need to get him to talk, it would help."

"Course it would. But Yugi doesn't seem that keen on talking." Joey narrowed his eyes and stared at the door that led to Yugi's bedroom. "Do you think he's telling the truth about that guy being the Pharaoh?"

Junri shrugged, getting up from her perch. "We might have to trust Yugi on that for now. Stay here for the night, Joey, I have a feeling that something is up."

The blonde snorted and settled back. "When the Pharaoh comes around, something is always up."

She didn't respond to that, moving back down the hall to knock cautiously on Yugi's door, surprised when he pulled it open. Yugi stared at his mother before walking back to the bed, Junri taking that as an invitation to come in. Cautiously, she walked across the threshold and into the small room, watching as her son sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the man there. After a moment, Yugi frowned, leaning over to place his ear against the man's chest, closing his eyes as he listed for something, Junri assuming that it was a heartbeat. Yugi sat up with a nod and repeated the process on the other side, Junri tipping her head in confusion when Yugi sat up and ran a hand through his hair.

As if noticing her for the first time, Yugi smiled sheepishly before gesturing at the man on the bed. "Both working. That's good."

"Both?"

"He's got two hearts."

Junri raised an eyebrow at that, Yugi seeming relieved that she didn't ask. He slumped, sliding off the edge of the bed and disappearing from her sight. Junri carefully sat on the side of the bed closest to her, looking at the man who almost resembled her son. She watched his chest rise and fall as he breathed, trying to put this man and the Pharaoh that she had known before together, the images not matching up. There was no way that they could be the same person, at least, not that she knew of. And she was willing to admit that there were many things that she didn't know.

Trying to lighten the atmosphere, Junri leaned over, seeing the spikes of Yugi's hair from her place on the bed. "What else does he have two of?"

"Mom!" Yugi shot up to his feet, Junri noticing that his gaze strayed to the man's crotch before he blushed and looked away. Junri chuckled to herself, waving the comment away.

"I see you finally found a use for those pajamas I bought you last year." She looked down at the blue fabric with its yellow stars, absently noting that it looked ridiculous on the man.

"Yeah, they were the only ones that were here and they were always a little too big and…" Yugi trailed off, biting his lip as he slumped again, nearly flopping onto the bed and cradling his head in his hands. "Mom, what am I going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean with everything." Yugi glanced up at her before looking back down at the bed. "One minute he was normal and the next…there was this explosion and then he changed into this. He says that he's still the same but I can't…" Yugi trailed off, wrapping his arms around himself and shaking his head. "I thought I could trust him."

"Yugi," Junri reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder, feeling her son tremble, "you just have to wait until he wakes up to talk to him. There's nothing else you can do."

Yugi looked like he was about to say something else before nodding, standing shakily on his feet. Junri stood too; watching as her son carefully tucked the Time Lord in, his hand hovering above the Pharaoh's forehead before he paused, Junri thinking she saw a tear trail down his cheek before he walked away. She shook her head, staring down at the alien before sighing. "What did you do to him, Pharaoh?"

Junri turned away to walk back out into the hall, hurried along by a shout from Joey, missing the golden vapor that was breathed out by the Pharaoh, the vapor disappearing almost immediately once it hit the air.

She glanced at the blonde as she entered the main room, watching as he beamed and pointed at the television. "They're announcing more about that space probe thing."

"Space probe?" Junri smiled at the sound of Yugi's voice, her son sounding interested in something. It would be good to distract him from his current problem.

Joey flipped himself over, smiling at his friend and nodding eagerly. "Yeah. The government has been funding this huge space probe thing for a while, trying to look at the surface of Mars or something like that. But, after the Slitheen incident, we got the command center moved here."

Yugi raised an eyebrow, Junri starting slightly at the move. It was a move that was obviously picked up from the Pharaoh as Yugi had never done it like _that_ before. Yugi flopped down in one of the chairs at the table, leaning on his hand as he looked at Joey. "And you know all of this because…"

"Hey, an alien stole my best buddy and then aliens attacked my home." Joey smiled. "Got to keep on top of these things now. Who knows, I might become an expert on extraterrestrial stuff."

"It's a start." Yugi smiled, his attention distracted as a white haired figure appeared on the screen. Yugi started around rushing over to the television, his mouth open in shock. "Is that?"

Joey stared at Yugi for a moment before laughing. "I forget that you didn't stick around to hear the news. That's our new mayor, elected because he did most of the clean up job after the Slitheen. He's-"

"Ryou Nakamura." They spoke at the same time, Joey staring at Yugi in shock as Yugi smiled and shrugged. "I kind of met him when we were at city hall. We hid in a closet together to avoid an explosion. But never mind that, he's _mayor_ now?"

"Yes." Junri smiled. "Best we've ever had. Really, Domino has improved with him in charge."

"That's good." Yugi smiled before flopping down on the sofa, watching as the image changed from Ryou to another person. "At least Domino is getting the treatment it deserves."

Junri nodded, watching in silence as a nervous man stumbled his way through the rest of the interview before stuttering that he had to leave to look over the probe's progress, Junri walking further into the room to settle into the chair. Yugi paid rapt attention through the rest of the news cast before slumping, Joey elbowing him in the side. "Come on, Yug'. We still have to pick up a few things for you mother here."

"Alright." Yugi stood up, racing into his room to retrieve his jacket before walking out again, the good mood that had begun to come over him disappearing suddenly. Junri sighed and shook her head; it was too much to hope that Yugi would be alright immediately.

"You two be careful out there."

"Of course we will!" Joey smiled as he leaned back into the apartment, Junri spotting Yugi reclining against the railing. "You're talking about Joey Wheeler here. And I've got Yug' here. He's probably seen it all by now. Come on-"

The door was shut behind him, cutting off the rest of Joey's sentence. Junri just smiled and shook her head, turning to go back into the main room when she caught a glimpse of the Pharaoh, still comatose, in Yugi's bed. She sighed and shook her head, telling herself not to worry about it at the moment. All that mattered was that Yugi was home safe and home for Christmas.

* * *

"What do you mean you lost the signal?"

"Just what I said. But it was only for a moment, it's back now."

"Good." The man rocked back, still leaning on the railing and glaring at the scientists who milled in the control area below him. "Just…go back to work then."

The scientist nodded, shuffling his papers anxiously before going back to work. The man slumped against the railing, tensing at the bout of laughter that came from behind him. "You shouldn't terrorize them, Bakura."

Ryou held back another laugh as his lover turned around to glare at him, managing to make the glare last for a few more moments before he walked over and slumped into the seat next to Ryou, absently slinging an arm around Ryou's shoulders. "I wouldn't have to if they didn't move so slowly."

"Science takes time."

"Too much time."

"Hey." Ryou glared at him, waiting until Bakura looked away. He smiled and reached up to ruffle Bakura's hair, earning a muffled protest from the other man. "Listen, they're just spooked."

Bakura finally succeeded in shoved Ryou's hands away, glaring at him before slumping in his chair rubbing his temples. "I know. The Fudos went missing at the start of this project and then Rex Goodwin losing his arm in that accident just before it was moved here…I'm beginning to believe them when they say that this project is cursed."

"We got it up and flying. And that's all that matters." Ryou smiled and tipped his head back to stare up at the ceiling, imagining the blanket of stars that dotted the night sky instead of the grey concrete. "It's up there now, Bakura, and who knows who will find it next."

"They might be dangerous."

Ryou shrugged before looking back at Bakura. "Everything is dangerous."

"You know what I mean."

"Yes, but we'll figure it out." Ryou leaned back and closed his eyes with a sigh, hearing Bakura echo the sound by his side. He smiled and reached out, resting his hand over Bakura's with a smile. He felt Bakura flip their hands over, twining their fingers together before giving his hand a gentle squeeze, his smile widening with the move. He could never thank the Pharaoh enough for giving him the shove that he needed to speak to Bakura. It had probably been the best decision in his life.

The days following the explosion at city hall had been hectic, Ryou on the scene of the clean up every day, rushing between the different crews, reporters and inspectors from the capital to try and keep things running smoothly. And, where he couldn't be Bakura was there instead, helping him out. It was amazing how they had managed to work toward the same goal, something without even speaking to each other the entire day, and Ryou refused to count their de-stressing sessions in Bakura's apartment as speaking; he could never be sure what nonsense he had been spouting. But they had managed to rebuild, for that, he had gotten elected as mayor and had dragged Bakura along for the ride.

That Bakura didn't protest was even better, Ryou feeling like it would be akin to chopping off a limb to break things off with Bakura. He sighed and let his head drop to rest on Bakura's shoulder, waiting for the protest from the usually gruff man. But there was none.

"Mr. Nakamura?" He opened his eyes, sitting up with a groan as a scientist scurried up to him, staring at Bakura before executing a hasty bow. "We've got the signal back at full strength and we're ready to turn on the cameras to see where we are in space."

"Alright." Ryou stood up, towing Bakura along with him as he went to stand by the rail, leaning against it and watching the large screen that had been set up for this purpose. His eyes skimmed over the mathematical jumble and mechanical progress of the ship, waiting as a part of the screen dissolved into static as the camera was turned on, the static disappearing to show a bit of blurred red, the camera hastily refocusing.

Ryou had a moment to recognize what he saw, a bleached white, almost horse-like skull with red eyes, before the thing roared. Ryou started back, Bakura immediately drawing him into a protective position, all of them staring at the screen in awe.

Some scientist had paused the image, more of them gathering in one group to discuss. He shivered and glanced back at the image, his heart sinking as he counted three more of those things. There was a chance that there could be more, as there was a chance that they could be friendly, just spooked at the sight of the camera, but his instinct was telling him that it was not true. Ryou swallowed nervously before pulling himself out of Bakura's embrace, leaning over the railing to speak to the scientists below. "What was that?"

"We don't know, sir." One answered, leaning over the screen at his station and squinting. Ryou watched as the scientist rubbed at his eyes before shaking his head, his mouth hanging open in shock. The scientist scrambled around, frantically typing and checking the screen before finally shaking his head and glancing up at Ryou. "It's impossible, sir."

"Don't tell me that."

"But it is, sir. The probe is not on Mars."

"Not on…" Bakura trailed off before shaking his head, Ryou just staring at the scientist in shock. "Damn it! Where is it then?"

"It's _near_ Mars." The scientist continued to type, sometimes appearing to write in the air for a moment before shrugging and looking back at them. "Five thousand miles from the surface, if my calculations are correct."

"Sir," another scientist piped up, "the signal is moving!"

"Which means it's on a ship." Ryou whispered the words to himself before quickly spinning around and bounding down toward where the scientists were, noticing that the red capped security guards were all perking up. Ryou snorted, shaking his head, they would now, especially now that they had figured out that this was actually an alien threat. He just hoped that U.N.I.T would be more help this time. Their experts had been incredibly good at dying when the world needed them before.

He skidded to a stop by one of the scientists, staring at the screen before nodding to himself. "Alright, so it's moving, which means that it got picked up by a ship or something. Which means that we found aliens." Ryou smiled at the scientist closest to him, trying to calm the man down. "And there's nothing on there to show that we are a threat or want to harm them, correct?"

"If they take today's music as a threat, sir." The scientist gave a shaky smile. "Which I wouldn't put past him."

"Oh, keep that one Ryou." Bakura smirked from his place leaning against the end of the row of terminals. "He's actually got a sense of humor."

Ryou rolled his eyes and refocused on the screen, ignoring the fact that he didn't understand anything that was on there. "Alright, so all we need to do is figure out what this species is and-"

"Sir, we've got another video coming through. Should I play it?" Ryou glanced back at the U.N.I.T guards before nodding, stepping away from the bank of consoles as he stared up at the screen, recognizing the same skull-faced aliens as before.

The one in front, the one that Ryou assumed to be the leader, spoke in a series of growls and clicks, Ryou widening his eyes as he realized that he couldn't understand the message, which might be bad for Earth. He blinked as the message came to a stop, immediately turning to the nearest scientist. "Did you record that?"

"Yes."

"Alright." Ryou began pacing the action helping him to sort through his thoughts. "We need to have that translated and sent to the capital. They need to know about this whether it is friendly or a threat, but first we need it translated…." He paused, staring at the room. "Do we still have that translation program that Hakase and Yusei were working on?"

There were a few muttered yeses before the scientists broke into a flurry of motion, Ryou smiling before nodding. "Then I want that message translated and transcribed. Keep an eye out on that ship and tell me if it speeds up. Someone remember to send a message to the Prime Minister with the translation and keep him up to date as well. We've got something people."

He turned around, walking towards the captain of the U.N.I.T guards, his smile disappearing. He didn't have to look behind him to see Bakura sidling up to him, the other man glaring at the U.N.I.T soldiers. Ryou crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the man, waiting for an answer. There was no answer for a moment before the large man shook his head. "They are not Martians. Martians look entirely different."

"Well, that's good to know." Ryou rolled his eyes, running a hand through his hair and feeling the start of a headache. He shook his head before staring at the captain again. "Have you heard any word on Hasake or Yusei?"

The captain shifted nervously before nodding slowly. "I'm not officially allowed to tell you this, but you might as well know, especially with this going on. We found them, about three years ago. Hasake is recovering from an attack on his person. Yusei, however, will not be returning to work."

The question of 'why' sprung up, by Ryou remained silent. The U.N.I.T guards had come with the project, something that had been in motion for a long while. He was just in charge of overseeing this one command center. Besides, U.N.I.T would probably not tell him what happened to the one of his top scientists that would make him unable to work, even if he had been found. Ryou sighed and shook his head. "Any news on the Pharaoh then?"

For a moment, the captain looked startled, Ryou and Bakura exchanging a look between themselves as the captain stuttered. "That is classified information, Mayor Nakamura."

"Not if you've met him." Ryou glared at the man before shaking his head. "Just, tell me if he's spotted. I'd feel better knowing that he is around somewhere in case all of this goes wrong."

The man nodded, Ryou turning around and seeing that Bakura had retreated up to their chairs, talking with someone on the phone with a frown. Ryou hesitated before bounding up the stairs towards him, pausing as Bakura signaled him to wait. Impatiently, Ryou turned around to look out over the bustling scientists, his eyes straying to the red berets that marked where the members of U.N.I.T were stationed. Ryou turned at a curse from Bakura, leaning back against the railing with an eyebrow raised.

His lover glanced around before walking closer to him, leaning on the railing beside Ryou. "Damn Torchwood already got wind of this."

"What?"

"That woman is getting something ready." Bakura looked uneasily at the U.N.I.T guards before leveling a glare at Ryou. "We're stuck here on this one, bunny."

"Bakura, not in public!" Ryou blushed, ducking his head as Bakura gave a low chuckle before sobering up again. He swallowed before looking out over the group again. "Yeah, we're stuck between a rock and a hard place here. Let's hope Torchwood isn't able to do too much."

"You and me both. Either way…" Bakura didn't have to finish the sentence, Ryou knowing what the man meant. If Torchwood did something, then they would run the risk of becoming visible to the public, something that they would never do, so they would find someone to blame. And he and Bakura were right in the line of fire. So much for being hailed as the best mayor in a decade.

Ryou rubbed his forehead with a groan, slumping back against the railing. "We'll figure that out when we get there, Bakura. Just, can we focus on this now?"

He thought he caught a hint of a smile on the man's face as Bakura turned to look back at the milling scientists before the man nodded. Ryou relaxed a bit at that, sighing as he leaned against the railing. He had a horrible feeling that he would carry the blame for this no matter what, even if Torchwood managed to keep its nose out of this.

* * *

Yugi shuffled along after Joey, not really listening to his best friend talk. His gaze strayed to the people still about, buying their Christmas Cakes and other presents. He dodged around a group of girls, all of them speaking in low, hushed tones about the guys who had asked them out, Yugi's stomach twisting oddly. That should have been Miho there. If he hadn't had broken up with her, he would be planning something special for her, as he had done all the other years. Instead, he was worrying about an alien that he wasn't even sure was the Pharaoh.

"So, Yug', you ever going to come back down to Earth?" He blinked and looked at Joey, blushing and ducking his head at the amused look on his friend's face. He didn't mean to tune Joey out; he was just busy trying to come to terms with what had happened. He had run all the possible scenarios in his mind and, from his own limited knowledge; he had come up with nothing. All he had was the explanation that the Pharaoh had given him, and his instincts were telling him to trust that.

He groaned and shook his head. "Sorry, Joey, I'm just still trying to work things out."

"Did the Pharaoh tell you anything about what happened?" Yugi looked up at his friend before nodding, confused when Joey looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think you should believe him, Yugi. As much as I hate him, he's trustworthy when it comes to you. Besides, I think a little thing like that wouldn't be something to lie about."

Yugi wanted to ask what Joey meant, ready to tell his friend the whole story when he heard the sounds of a brass band. He blinked, explanation forgotten as he turned to look at the group. The group itself wasn't strange, unless their costumes could be considered strange, it was the fact that they were out in the open that was strange. And Yugi had never known a group in Domino to perform wearing Santa suits _and_ masks. He tipped his head to the side, deciding to let it slide. He was just too used to being suspicious about everything from his travels with the Pharaoh.

He followed Joey through the milling crowds, listening to his friend's commentary on what had been going on while he had been gone, smiling as Joey made hand gestures that caused other people to scurry around them, shooting angry looks back at the blonde. It was almost enough to make Yugi laugh, a smile crossing his face as he watched Joey. He was glad that the blonde had recovered from the loss of his girlfriend and the complete severing of ties with his sister. How Joey had ever managed it without breaking down was beyond Yugi.

Joey had launched into a story about his clumsy advances towards the cute girl at his job when Yugi turned his head to the side; slowing down slightly as he noticed that the same brass band as before had followed him. He blinked, staring at them before averting his eyes, telling himself that it was nothing. But that was harder to convince himself of as he watched a trumpet player turn to look at him, their gaze meeting for a moment before the trumpeter turned back abruptly, Yugi tensing and coming to a stop. So, it wasn't just his imagination.

"Joey!" The blonde had wandered ahead when Yugi had slowed down, stopping and turning to look at his friend. Yugi smiled and jogged to catch him, tensing when the music from the band stopped. He turned around, backing towards his friend as he stared at the group. There was no doubt now that they had been watching him. He reached out for Joey, intending to push him along when he saw the tuba player shift, almost like he was taking aim… "Move!"

Yugi shoved them both to one side, the two of them almost falling to the ground as something was fired from the tuba. Yugi grabbed onto Joey's jacket and began to tow him through the crowd. He saw the band begin to move through the panicking crowd, turning his head to look towards home. He swallowed nervously before letting go of Joey's jacket, allowing the blonde to jog after him.

"What was that?"

"I don't know." Yugi shrugged, quickly changing directions to take a faster route home. He remembered running this way to escape bullies when he was younger, wincing at the bad memories. He shook his head and glanced back up at Joey. "Whatever they are, they're dangerous, and I don't want to be there to find out how dangerous."

"Have you seen them before?"

"No!" Yugi gasped out the word, dodging through a small alley and smiling as he came out close to his apartment complex. "Never. They might not even be alien, still…" He frowned and slowed to a fast walk, Joey shooting him a strange look. "But what do we have that they want?"

"Huh?"

"It's always about what the other side wants, and what do we have that they could possibly want. Listen, in the whole scheme of things, we are about as important as grass, Joey. If they wanted something huge to happen they would attack someone important, but what do we have." Yugi stared at the ground, listening to Joey try and talk out the solution, shaking his head as some of the answers were directed at him. He hummed to himself, glancing up to see how far they had to go, coming to a stop as he stared at his apartment. It was so obvious, so embarrassing that he hadn't thought about it before. They _were_ going after someone big. "It's the Pharaoh."

"What?"

"They're after the Pharaoh. It's the only thing that we have that they could want." His answer got a shocked nod from Joey, Yugi barely staying long enough to see the motion, too busy running as fast as his legs could carry him.

He rushed into the main lot behind the apartments, looking around for danger before rushing up the stairs to his apartment, listening to Joey trying to keep up with him. Yugi didn't bother looking back for his friend, knowing that Joey could easily keep pace with him, sprinting down the balcony in front of the apartments until he got to his door, fumbling with the keys and pushing the door open. "Mom, we've got to leave!"

"Leave?" She looked out of her room, absently pulling her hair back as she stared at him. "Why?"

"Something is after us because the Pharaoh is here. I don't know who they are, what they want and-What happened to our Christmas tree?" Yugi found himself staring at the pristine Christmas tree in the main room, wondering what happened to the slightly beat up version that they used to have. The presents were still there and none of the lights had been messed up, but that still didn't explain the presence of the lavishly decorated Christmas tree. Yugi frowned and walked into the room, hearing his mother and Joey follow him.

"That? That was…" Junri gasped and shook her head. "It was delivered to our front porch about an hour ago. But I didn't bring it in, I liked Dad's tree too much…"

Yugi swallowed nervously, edging in front of his mother as Joey emerged from the kitchen, having safely stored the groceries that they had bought. All three of them stared at the tree, Yugi tensing as the lights began to flicker on, glowing blue against the fake frosted branches. For a moment, it sat serenely in its corner before sections of it began to spin, slowly at first before gaining speed. Yugi shivered at the sound that the branches made as they moved quickly, standing his ground before pushing his mother and Joey towards the front door. "Out!"

They ran, Yugi managing a few steps before he came to a stop, staring into his bedroom. The Pharaoh was still there, lying on his bed and looking entirely different. Whether this was the Pharaoh or not, Yugi hadn't quite decided yet, it would be wrong to leave him here. Yugi glanced back at the spinning tree before rushing into his room, trying to shift the Pharaoh from the bed only to be unable to lift him up. He stared out at the hallway before trying again, jumping as Joey and Junri rushed into the room.

"Yug' what are you doing?"

"We have to get him out of here!"

"It's too late for that!" Junri ducked through the door again, slamming it behind her before beginning to pull Yugi's desk towards the door. She threw her weight against it, Joey quickly following suit. Yugi stared at them for a moment before realizing what his mother meant. The tree had already blocked their way out, and it was his fault that they were all now trapped in here. Yugi growled to himself, glancing down at the bed before dropping to the floor, searching for the Pharaoh's clothes, coming up with a short shout of success, staring at the tube in his hand.

He stood up, mouth dropping open in shock as his door shook, shaking it off before sitting on the bed and wrapping the Pharaoh's limp fingers around the sonic screwdriver, holding his hand over it to keep the tool from slipping out. Yugi swallowed and glanced up at the door before shaking the Pharaoh's shoulder. "Get up!"

There was no response, Yugi flinching at the sound of wood being chipped away, knowing that they only had minutes before they were all trapped with the mad tree in the room. Yugi swallowed nervously before bending back over the Pharaoh, shaking him frantically. "Wake up! There's something here, it's trying to kill us. Pharaoh!"

He dropped to the bed as the door, and part of the wall, was torn away, looking up as his mother and friend scattered to the far side of the room, watching in horror as the Christmas tree advanced on him. He knew he should get back, but he couldn't just leave the Pharaoh here. If there was even a chance that this was the same man, he would know what to do. And he was the only one that could do anything, because Yugi was completely useless on his own.

Yugi flinched backwards again, still crouched slightly over the Pharaoh as the tree continued to edge towards them. The hand that he had over the Pharaoh's tightened slightly, Yugi ducking his head into the crook of the Pharaoh's neck, shivering as he heard his mother scream something, biting his lip before whispering, expecting nothing to happen. "Help me."

He yelped as he was jolted from his position, getting a glimpse of angry red eyes before he fell partially to the floor. Yugi scrambled to his feet, leaning on the bed as the Christmas tree jittered to a stop before exploding, the hum of the sonic screwdriver suddenly audible. Yugi ducked his head and panted for breath, looking up as the Pharaoh spoke, the deep baritone voice startling him. "Remote control. But then, who is controlling it?"

 __

* * *

 _Please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome._


	3. Our Longest Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Chapter Two: Our Longest Night**

**Chapter Two: Our Longest Night**

" _Mum, look in the sky. There is a great big alien invasion and I don't know what to do, alright?_ _"_

-Rose Tyler

Before he could stop him, the Pharaoh had stood up, walking through the ruined door and out into the hall. Yugi glanced at Joey and Junri before lunging after him, peeling off his own coat as he stepped outside. He offered it to the Pharaoh, watching the Time Lord pull it on as they walked outside. For a moment, it looked like the Pharaoh paused, staring at the sleeve of the jacket, like he was realizing where it had come from before the Time Lord shook his head and walked to the railing. Yugi placed his hands of the metal and leaned on it.

Below them was the brass band, minus their instruments, one of them holding a remote control. Yugi swallowed nervously, glancing back as Joey and Junri before looking up at the Pharaoh, surprised to see the angry expression that he had seen in the bedroom still on the Time Lord's face. He was tempted to shy away, but remained still as the Pharaoh raised the sonic screwdriver in an obviously threatening motion.

The brass band took a step back, their gaze remaining on the Pharaoh even as they did so. Yugi watched the stand off, his eyes widening as blue light surrounded the band members, before they seemed to stretch out, disappearing into the beams of blue the next moment. Yugi leaned out a little further, bracing himself on the rail, smiling as Joey let out a whoop. "That's right, run!"

"Quiet." Yugi stared at the Pharaoh as he spoke, watching the Time Lord sweep the lot and then the sky with his eyes before he relaxed slightly. "They're gone, for now."

"What were they?" Yugi was startled at how easily that he was falling back to the old routine, surprised at how natural it felt. He turned to smile at the Pharaoh, surprised when there wasn't an answering smile in return.

"Pilot fish. Just the pilot fish before the-" The Pharaoh's eyes went wide before he fell down, Yugi lunging to catch him as he crumpled. He shifted nervously as the Time Lord clung to him, panting heavily before looking up, his red eyes filled with pain. "You woke me too early."

"I'm sorry. I couldn't thin-"

"No, no." The Pharaoh gasped for breath, trembling for a moment before seeming to get himself under control. "It's still going. Too much energy. It's still-Agh, my head."

"What do you need?"

"It feels like my head is _exploding_." He shifted to look up at Yugi, readjusting his hold so that he was clinging to Yugi's shoulders. "It's a neuron implosion. I need…no." Yugi started as the Pharaoh looked up at him again, seeming to struggle to concentrate. "Listen to me. If there are pilot fish that means…that means…my head."

"Don't worry about it." Yugi glanced over at Joey and Junri, wanting their help with this, but they still seemed too spooked by the Pharaoh's behavior. He shook his head and concentrated back on the trembling Time Lord in his arms. "Tell us what you need."

"No. This is more important. The pilot fish means…means…." The Pharaoh trembled, clenching his eyes shut. The Time Lord coughed, shaking before he breathed out a puff of golden vapor, Yugi starting as he recognized it from before. The Time Lord seemed equally as shaken by its existence. "No. They're after me. Energy…of course. Yugi," he clawed at the human, drawing Yugi's attention back to him, "something is coming. I-"

Yugi gave a cry of shock as the Pharaoh's eyes rolled back in his head before he went limp, Yugi clinging to him for a moment before slumping as he watched the Time Lord's chest rise and fall slowly. He sighed, brushing the Pharaoh's bangs back from his head, feeling the layer of sweat that had developed there. Whatever was wrong with the Pharaoh, it was getting worse. He bit back a sob before struggling to lift the Pharaoh off the ground, relieved when Joey helped him. "Back to my room."

They carried the Pharaoh back into the house, Junri walking into the kitchen, probably to fix them all something to drink. Yugi helped Joey maneuver the Time Lord onto his bed before collapsing, his head resting in his hands for a moment before he shook his head. "I don't know what to do, Joey. Before I…I thought that I could do something, but I still _need_ him. And…he's gone and left me Joey."

"Yug', he's right here." Yugi blinked, looking over at the man sprawled out on the bed, wearing his jacket before he shook his head.

"That's not-" He was cut off by the less than gentle knock on his head, Yugi wincing and rubbing the sore spot while glaring at Joey. "What was that for?"

Joey stared at him for a moment before shaking his head. "Listen to yourself! You're already giving up!"

"I don't know what to do, Joey!" Yugi stood up to glare at his friend, the effect ruined by the height difference between them. "I wish I did. I wish I could magically know how to solve all of this and get the Pharaoh back, but I don't. All I can do is sit here and watch him suffer. I don't even know how to help him! I'm back to the way I was before, Joey, useless."

"Trying never hurt."

"I did try. I tried to save him and was too late, he was dying when I got there." Yugi motioned to the alien on his bed. "This was the result. I don't even _know_ him anymore, Joey, it's completely different!"

Joey stared at him for a long moment before shaking his head. "Keep trying, Yug'. You're our best bet."

He stared after his friend as Joey walked out, flopping down onto the bed with a long sigh, glancing back over his shoulder at the Pharaoh. Hesitantly, he reached out and held the Time Lord's hand, gently turning it over in his own hands as he thought. He was the only one who could protect his family, and the Pharaoh was counting on Yugi to keep him safe, but he still didn't know what to do. Yugi shook his head, gently setting the hand down again before tucking the Pharaoh in, frowning at the sweat that had gathered and the way that the Time Lord was mumbling in his sleep. "I'll figure this out, Pharaoh. Just hang on for me, okay?"

Yugi bit his lip before standing up and walking out of the room, wrapping his arms around himself as he stepped into the main room, jumping as Joey suddenly sat up from the sofa with a shout of victory. "Ha! Knew I had heard the term somewhere. And Mrs. Uemura said I would never amount to anything." Joey turned to look at Yugi with a wide smirk. "Come on, ask me what I know."

He stared at Joey for a moment before reluctantly speaking. "What do you know?"

"Pilot fish." Joey beamed up at him, Yugi confused. The blonde shook his head and resettled himself on the sofa, turning so he could talk to both Yugi and Junri. "They're the fish that swam along with the sharks, I remember that from science. And I remember that they never strayed far from the shark."

Yugi couldn't help the smile that crossed his face, his friend's enthusiasm infectious. He went to lean on the back of the chair, watching as his mother searched for the news channel. "So, you're saying that those things were like scouts."

"Yeah." Joey's smile faded as he realized what he was saying, the blonde slumping back on the sofa. "Now we have to deal with the big fish."

Yugi groaned, glancing down at his mother as she tipped her head to the side. "Those don't look like rocks."

"What?"

"Listen." Junri turned up the volume on the television, sitting back and looking concerned.

" _Pictures from Takahashi One are now being transmitted. In a few moments, we will have our first look at Mars."_ Yugi blinked and leaned forward, suddenly unsure if those oddly shaped white rocks were from Mars when the picture suddenly cleared itself up, Yugi jumping backwards as the skull-faced creature bellowed. He heard Junri shriek and Joey let out a curse, his attention focused on the screen as the creature continued to grunt and roar, his stomach twisting.

The broadcast was hurriedly turned off as the reporters dissolved into nervous chatter, promising to get answers about the image. Yugi was too shaken to pay attention, his hands gripping tightly to the back of the chair as he swallowed, looking at Joey nervously. "I think we just saw the shark."

* * *

"Damn it, Ryou, it's leaked." Ryou choked on his sip of coffee, staring at Bakura before setting the mug down. The man paced for a bit before kicking the wall. "It's out to the public now, the image, the message, everything. There must be panic out there!"

Ryou nodded, glancing nervously at the control center around him before standing up. "I'll have to go and make a public announcement about this. Keep me up to date on-"

"We've got it!" He was interrupted as a scientist rushed up to them, staring at the Blackberry he held in his hands, glancing nervously at the screen before looking up at Ryou. "It's rough, but it gets the message across." The scientist scrolled to the top of the message, clearing his throat as he began to read. "'People,' although it translated cattle, 'your planet is now ours. We will take from you your resources, your precious gems, your women,' we're not quite sure how to translate that, it's the best we can do, 'and your lives if you do not surrender. We demand half of your population as slaves or they will die.'"

"They?"

"We aren't quite sure about that, but we've run it through the translator so many times. It's right." The scientist looked miserable, shuffling his feet and staring at the floor before glancing up at Bakura and Ryou. "We've also managed to figure out when they will get here and it's within the next hour."

Bakura cursed, Ryou slumping as he glanced at the clock. It was past midnight, Christmas Eve. Today, everyone should be celebrating Christmas, but they would probably have to be inside because of the alien threat, if they weren't enslaved. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair before nodding at the scientist. "Alright, try to translate this as closely as you can. We do not surrender, this planet is ours by right of conquest. We are armed and will not hesitate to defend ourselves, but we are willing to negotiate."

The man nodded and scurried off, Ryou groaning. This was getting dangerous fast, almost enough to want him to rely on Torchwood's mysterious weapon that they were working on. The thought was quickly shaken out of his hand, Ryou reaching back for Bakura's hand. "What do I do?"

"Figure out what's going on here and then tell the people." Bakura offered a shaky smile. "We have U.N.I.T here; they can help in some way. Ask them to call off Torchwood if you have to."

"Right." Ryou pulled Bakura out into the main area of the control room, glancing over at the captain of the U.N.I.T guard as he moved over, debating over whether to speak with him now or later, deciding that sooner would be better. With the way things were going, he was liable to get caught up in something else and forget. Although, Bakura would make sure to take care of the little things that he forgot. Ryou cleared his throat and looked at the man. "Do you have any authority or even favors to call in with Torchwood? I need to keep them out of this."

The man started, shaking his head and backing away a step. "How do you know about Torchwood?"

"They keep calling me." Ryou rolled his eyes. "Something about the Pharaoh and their mission. It's getting annoying and they might just jeopardize this whole planet with their rash actions."

The captain didn't get a chance to respond, Bakura elbowing him to draw his attention to the screen as the scientists began to scurry around. Ryou turned to stare at the screen as the image flickered, revealing the skull-faced people again. He sighed and walked up to stare at the screen, noticing the scientist with the translator program was there as well. He looked over; watching as they relayed their message to the aliens, jumping with Bakura touched his shoulder. "The President of the US wants to talk to you."

Ryou rolled his eyes. "Tell him to suck it up and go play with his cows. I'm not having this turn into a war."

He heard Bakura chuckle as he relayed the message of the leader of the United States, Ryou wincing as Bakura used more colorful language in the retelling. He was just glad that the President thought that Bakura was amusing instead of insulting. Quickly, his attention shifted from his lover to the screen, noticing that the message had finished being sent, the guttural language of the aliens being spoken again. He watched the scientist running the message through the translator, checking it with others before running over, Ryou realizing that the screen had yet to flicker off. He swallowed nervously before looking at the scientist. "Well?"

"They call themselves the Sycorax and they demand that that you give in to their demands."

"I already told them no."

"Their threat still stands."

"I know. 'They will die.' But who is they." Ryou shrugged before glaring at the man. "Tell them I say no. That I speak for this Earth and I say that we will not submit." The scientist stared at him before nodding solemnly and trudging off towards the computers, the message being relayed.

Ryou turned to look at Bakura, wondering if he did the right thing when shouts came from the scientists, his eyes moving back to stare at the screen. The leader of the aliens seemed to glare down at him through its red eyes before it lifted a gloved hand, blue light swirling around the hand. Ryou frowned as the watched the display, the other aliens behind the leader seeming to laugh. He stepped closer to the screen, resting a hand on the shoulder of the scientist who had been translating. "What was that, an actual gesture or…"

He trailed off as he watched that same blue light move over the scientist's head, lunging to grab the Blackberry with the translation software as the scientist moved, walking away from him. Ryou went to rush after him when he noticed some of the other personnel moving for the door. He held out an arm to stop Bakura, watching as the men shuffled away before passing the Blackberry to his lover, grabbing the nearest scientist and shoving him towards a computer. "Find out the connections between them and why they would do this. You," he motioned at one of the soldiers who still remained, "help him. Bakura, with me."

They ran after the people who were leaving, Ryou shouting out strict orders not to try and wake them up. It reminded him too much of sleepwalking, although the blue light that occasionally wreathed their heads made him wonder if it was a connection with the aliens. He shook his head as he bounded up the last flight of stairs, wiggling through the line of shambling people and onto the roof, gasping as he stared at the people lined up at the edge. He walked the boarder of the roof, partially aware that Bakura was frantically answering calls on his cell phone.

"Ryou, they say it's everywhere." He turned to look at his lover before looking out over the city of Domino, seeing people lit up by the bright Christmas lights as they took their places on the edge of anything high enough to jump off of. Ryou moved back from the edge to look at Bakura, shaking his head in horror.

"Bakura, I think I know who the 'they' are." He bit his lip before tugging on Bakura's sleeve, his mind working frantically to push past the panic and come up with a plan. Ryou lowered his voice so that none of the others around him could hear, ignoring the people who tried to talk the others down from their perches. "I need to make some sort of statement that I can give to the reporters, just to give the people the truth. And, I need to find the Pharaoh."

"That's impossible, Ryou."

"I know, but I'm going to try. You just keep me up to date." Ryou gave him a soft smile before kissing him quickly and bounding back down the stairs, intent on finding the first reporter he could and making his statement.

* * *

Bakura stood on the roof for a moment before rushing back down to the control room, getting a glimpse of Ryou as the man rushed away. He shook his head before turning back to the working scientists, pointedly ignoring the U.N.I.T soldiers. They had never asked for them in the first place, and Bakura hated having them around. It was like having someone baby sit them and, since they were under the command of the United Nations, nothing that Bakura or the government could say would get them to leave. Apparently, what they were doing was extremely important. Bakura could see that, but he doubted that they needed the guards.

Then again, they had lost two of their scientists before he and Ryou had come onto this project. That might have been warrant enough. Still, there was no reason for them _here_ at the lab with the rest of them. But, Ryou just said he was biased because U.N.I.T had been completely useless when the Slitheen had attacked.

He rubbed a hand over his face before leaning on the computer by the scientist and a U.N.I.T soldier, watching as they went through the list of people that had left. He found himself staring at the list of things that they had put on the Takahashi One, tapping his fingers on the console before looking over at the others. "The aliens have the probe, right?"

"Yes." The scientist gave him a sideways glance as Bakura gestured at the monitor he was looking at.

"Well, what could they use from that probe that could do this." The U.N.I.T soldier looked confused, the scientist catching on an instant later, nodding before going back through the files, muttering to himself the entire time. Bakura waited patiently until the scientist stood up straight, staring at the screen. "And the answer is?"

"They _are_ using the probe, specifically the blood sample that we put there." The scientist swallowed and took a shaky step back. "A positive blood, that's what was in the probe and that's what all the people have in common. They're controlling all the people with A positive blood through some means."

Bakura just nodded and stepped away; pulling out his cell phone and using the speed dial to call Ryou, standing nervously through the rings and the soft mumbling as Ryou asked for a moment. He sighed in relief as Ryou answered. "Bakura?"

"We found out what the connection is." He began to pace, keeping his voice down. "They all have A positive blood, that's the link. It must be like that all over the world."

"H-how?"

"The probe, it's the blood sample that was in there." Bakura thought he heard Ryou curse, glancing up at the screen and flinching as the aliens appeared again. "They're back on, I'll stall for as long as I can, but get back here as soon as possible."

"Almost done anyway. Thank you, Bakura."

Bakura smiled. "Anything for you, bunny."

Ryou muttered something before hanging up, Bakura glancing up at the impatient aliens before pulling out the Blackberry, staring at it before resigning himself to figuring out how it would work. With Ryou out for a few more minutes, he was the one in charge, no matter what U.N.I.T would have to say on the matter. He stared at the screen before turning to a scientist, the two of them holding a quick discussion that covered the basics of the translating software.

His crash course was finished as Ryou came rushing back in, staring up at the aliens before bowing and offering his apologies, something that the aliens didn't seem too impressed with. "What do they want?"

Bakura glanced at the screen of the Blackberry, partially listening to the guttural language from the aliens, watching as the words appeared. He blinked, tempted to run the translation again, but a look at the aliens made him forget about that. They looked like they wouldn't stand for much more. He cleared his throat before looking at Ryou. "They want to discuss more, but don't want to wait. They're asking you to come aboard."

He paled at the determined look on Ryou's face, knowing what his lover was about to do. He reached out to rest a hand on Ryou's shoulder, shocked when Ryou shook it off, knowing what that motion meant. Ryou had already made up his mind and nothing Bakura said would make him change it. For a moment, he cursed his lover's determination before giving it up. Holding the position of mayor had changed his hesitant lover, something that he both loved and cursed. Of course, it did lead to some interesting nights.

"If you go, I go."

"Bakura-"

"No arguments. I'll work this thing," he waved the Blackberry, "and you do the negotiating. No breaking up this team."

That got a smile from Ryou, reaching out to take Bakura's hand as he turned to look at the aliens before nodding, Bakura relaying the message a moment later. He turned as the captain of the U.N.I.T troops rushed over, Roman Goodwin trying to keeping pace with the man and trying to convince him to remain behind.

Bakura turned, ready to defend Ryou when he saw a blue light surround him, glancing up at the ceiling before over at Ryou, envying his lover's calm before the light got too bright, Bakura closed his eyes, his stomach twisting oddly at the sensation of movement before suddenly feeling his support give way.

He grunted as he was thrown to the ground, his hand closing around the Blackberry before looking up, his mouth falling open as he saw that he was within something that resembled a cave, his awe ruined by the crowds of skull-faced, red robed Sycoraxs. Bakura slowly pushed himself up to his feet, stumbling back to stand beside Ryou, glancing over at Roman and the captain who had been pulled with them. He shook his head before glancing at Ryou, noticing the faintest shaking of his lover's hand, Bakura reaching out to grab it as the leader of the Sycoraxs walked toward them, his hands moving towards the skull.

"It looks like it's just a helmet." Bakura glanced towards Roman as the scientist pushed himself from the ground, looking excited at the chance to meet the aliens. "They might look like us."

Bakura tensed as the skull helmet was removed, staring at the raised bone and exposed muscle that made up the alien's face. He felt Ryou tighten his grip for a moment before taking a step forward, seeming to gather himself together to make a speech. Bakura was about to reach out to pull Ryou back, not liking the predatory manner of the aliens, relieved when Roman Goodwin pulled Ryou back, giving a long glance at the man before stepping forward. "It's my fault that those people are like that, I put the blood in the probe, I will take care of it."

Ryou shook his head, about to speak when Bakura pulled him back. "Let him. Watch for now. We know too little about them right now to act."

He felt Ryou getting ready to protest, Bakura squeezing his shoulders as Roman began to speak, feeling Ryou tremble. "We mean you no harm, but we will not surrender. Our planet is just starting out, our species small compared to you, if you could just-"

The Sycorax reacted, Bakura pulling Ryou back as a whip cracked, Bakura seeing the sparks dance over its surface before it wrapped around Roman's neck. Bakura quickly spun Ryou around, holding Ryou's head against his shoulder as Roman was electrocuted. The scientist's skin was quickly burnt off, muscles and ligaments following quickly. Ryou finally struggled out of his grip as Roman's bones fell to the ground, Ryou gasping at the sight. Bakura kept a secure hold on his lover to keep him from rushing forward.

They stared at the bones, Ryou reaching out for the captain as he walked forward, missing him. Bakura scrambled to keep Ryou back, stepping slightly in front of his lover as the captain advanced, obviously annoyed. "You had no right to do that. He was your hostage."

Bakura saw the Sycorax twitch before lashing out with the whip again, his eyes widening as the bones of the captain followed the scientist to the ground. He felt Ryou shiver in his arms for a moment, only then realizing that he was holding the man. Reluctantly, he let Ryou go, knowing that the image that it presented was that humans were weak. Ryou glanced back at him before taking a step forward, the Sycorax leader hissing at him before walking up to a stand, Bakura noticing the single button on a pillar.

The Sycorax let his hand hover the button, the threat obvious. Bakura fumbled for the Blackberry, booting up the translating software as the leader began to speak. He glanced down at the screen and began reading it off to Ryou. "He says that you give half of the population as slaves or he kills them." Bakura's voice trembled over the last word, glancing over at Ryou. "Listen, Ryou, we're fucked either way. They've got us here."

"I know, Bakura." Ryou nodded, glancing around at the Sycoraxs surrounding them before rubbing his arms. "I just don't know what to do other than wish that the Pharaoh is here. I just don't know which to choose or to just risk getting electrocuted." He shrugged helplessly before looking down. "I'm stuck."

He reached out to hold Ryou's hand, rubbing his thumb over the back of it. He didn't envy Ryou's choice, hoping that something would turn up. If anyone died or he had to be sold into slavery, Ryou would continue to blame himself for the rest of his life. And he would miss his spunky Ryou if that happened, he didn't want his lover to disappear back into his shell again.

His head jerked up as a beeping came from the button, the Sycorax leader hissing and backing away, speaking rapidly to the others behind him before turning on Ryou, its voice rising in anger. Bakura stepped slightly in front of Ryou, his eyes dropping to the screen and reading it off to Ryou. "They want to know what that noise is."

"Tell them I don't know!"

Bakura went to translate that when the Sycorax lashed out with his staff, the man ducking the blow before returning to looking at the screen as the leader continued to bellow, Bakura backing away and reading off the translation. "They're bringing that thing onboard."

Ryou stared at him, motioning for Bakura to back up and then pulling him back, the two of them watching the Sycorax turn to shout as his followers. Bakura felt Ryou slip a hand into his, Ryou trembling. "Still with me?"

Bakura nodded, too busy watching the Sycorax's behavior to answer.

* * *

Yugi carefully peeled the rag away from the Pharaoh's forehead, sighing before dropping it back into the bucket of water and taking out a new one. Whatever had happened to the Time Lord, it was quickly getting worse instead of better. The wet rags only lasted a few minutes on his forehead before Yugi had to replace them, even though the Pharaoh was shivering nearly uncontrollably. And, a little under an hour ago, one of the Pharaoh's hearts had stopped. Apparently, the Pharaoh could function with only one working, but it appeared that whatever he was fighting was getting the best of him.

The Time Lord whimpered in his sleep, Yugi soothing him, glancing up as his mother leaned on the door. This wasn't how they were supposed to be spending the night before their Christmas celebrations. They should have been laughing and sharing the stories of their adventures, him and the other Pharaoh, his first Pharaoh. Yugi shook his head at the thought, hating himself for thinking like that.

He had seen what had happened and, whether or not he could wrap his mind around it, this man was the Pharaoh. It just seemed right. It wasn't fair to compare him to the man that had come before him. That Pharaoh had an unfair advantage on this one. That Pharaoh Yugi had loved. He blushed at the thought, looking up at his mother again before clearing his throat, trying to look like he wasn't trying to hide his blush. He wasn't sure if his mother saw through his actions and decided to ignore them or if she honestly didn't notice. "How is he?"

"Worse." Yugi shook his head, replacing the rag on the Pharaoh's forehead and watching the Time Lord shiver. "I can't get him to cool down and one of his hearts has stopped. What do I do?"

Junri held his gaze for a moment before walking over to him and nearly picking him up off the bed. Yugi went to protest when his mother hushed him, a soft smile on her face. "You go get yourself something to eat and I'll look after him for a while. In the meantime, I'll see if I can remember something that will help him."

"Just…no medicine, Mom. We don't know what he's allergic to." Yugi hesitated at the door for a moment before walking out into the main room, looking at Joey with a shaky smile. "Hey."

The blonde turned around. "How are you holding up?"

"I…I could be better. It's just-" He stopped as he heard screaming outside. Yugi turned his head to the door, getting something to eat forgotten about. He and Joey rushed for the door, Yugi motioning for his mother to get back into his room. He wanted her to be safe if something back happened. And this was felt like something bad.

Yugi opened the door, watching as some of his neighbors walked past, his eyes widening at the blue light that swirled around their heads occasionally. Ignoring Joey's attempts to pull him back inside, Yugi cautiously stepped out, watching men and women walking towards the steps. He frowned before sprinting after them, hearing Joey calling for him to wait up as he dashed up the stairs to the roof, coming to a shocked stop. The people were lining up on the edge like they were going to jump. Yugi took a step back, turning back for the staircase and intending to run back down to his apartment, but Joey was in the way.

"Yug', we can't just leave them there!"

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Yugi gestured at the nearest person, Joey watching them with fright. "It's like they're sleepwalking. I don't know if we should wake them or if we even can. I just don't know Joey. The best thing to do would be to wait for more information."

"I thought that you would be on top of this sort of thing, Yug'."

"I was!" Yugi glared at Joey. "But that was with _him_! I've been telling you that I don't know what I'm doing Joey, I'm as lost as you here. But I'm trying my best; it just doesn't seem like enough. Would you rather have me give up?"

Joey stared at him for a while before shaking his head, looking embarrassed. "Of course not."

"Then we go back and we see if U.N.I.T has anything to say about this, even if we have to hack into their server again." Yugi stepped around Joey and stormed back down the stairs towards the apartment, hearing the blonde scramble after him. He didn't know where this sudden bout of determination had come from, but he just hoped it lasted. With the Pharaoh the way he was and the sudden realization that he was essentially useless in times of crisis, it was only a matter of time before he broke down completely.

He threw open the door, rushing into the main room and lunging for the remote to turn the television on, flicking quickly through the channels, noticing that all of them had coverage of the people on the roofs, some of the stations even showing footage from other countries. He had a glimpse of people on the edge of the Coliseum before he changed the channel. Yugi almost missed the channel with Ryou Nakamura speaking, blinking as he realized that he had skipped past it and retreating two channels before staring at the television.

The mayor of Domino was standing in front of a camera, looking uncomfortable. The reporter was finishing up with her introduction of the mayor before she held the microphone to him. Yugi blinked and flopped down, missing the chair and landing on the floor with a thud. He hardly noticed, staring at the television as Ryou began to speak slowly.

" _By now I'm guessing you've seen the people on the roofs and I beg you not to try and move them away or wake them up, we are working on just exactly what has happened to them. Please, just stay calm while we try to figure this out. Just remain in your homes and wait for more news, I promise that we will deliver it to you as fast as we can. I beg you to remain calm and present the best part of you and that is all I could ask."_ Ryou hesitated for a second before looking straight at the camera, new resolve in is eyes. _"Also, if you can hear me or you know him, we need the Pharaoh now more than ever. If you have seen him or have some way to contact him, tell him that the Earth is begging him to come to our aide. Because I don't think we can get out of this without his help."_

The remote slipped out of Yugi's hand, clattering to the floor and drawing Junri out of his room. He turned to look at her, attempting an apology but no words came out. Yugi shook his head and attempted to stand up, only to have to lean against the chair as he knees shook. He heard Junri cry out in shock, rushing to support him as Joey asked what was going on from the kitchen. All of that was just background noise to Yugi's swirling thoughts. It was only when his mother shook him that he managed to put them into words. "I've killed us all."

"What?" Junri shook her head, slipping her fingers under his chin to tilt his head up so he could look at her. "Of course you haven't."

"I have." Yugi trembled before clinging to his mother. "I didn't get there in time to save him. I did this to him. He had to absorb the time vortex to save himself and I couldn't help him!"

He took a shaky breath, about to speak again when the floor underneath their feet seemed to rattle and the windows suddenly shattered, Yugi yelping and pushing his mother to the floor and covering her with his own body. He hissed in pain as a piece of glass scratched across the back of his hand, not noticing the wisps of gold that immediately sprung out of his skin to fix the break before disappearing, leaving the faintest of scars on the back of his hand.

Yugi sprung to his feet, running down the hallway to open the door, reaching out for the railing of the balcony before leaning out, his mouth dropping open at the thing that hovered over Domino. It was a space ship, obviously enough by the way it hung above the Earth and looked like nothing that Yugi had ever seen created on Earth, but it seemed to be made of rock. And it was massive, Yugi only getting a glimpse of the belly of the thing and the rest stretching over the city. He was aware that his mouth had dropped open in shock, barely aware of the screaming that was going on around him.

After a moment he pushed himself away from the railing, glancing around before looking at the TARDIS which sat patiently across the lot. He fingered the key that rested under his shirt before coming to a decision. Yugi pushed away from the railing and walked back inside his house, suddenly calm. It had all gone too far out of his hands. While he had the Pharaoh, he doubted that the Time Lord would be of any help now; so calling Ryou was out of the question. The only thing he could do now was to save his mother and Joey and try to save the Pharaoh; although he suspected that the Time Lord was too far gone for his help.

"Mom, pack all the stuff we would need to survive, food and clothes. That stuff. The TARDIS only has a few weeks worth of food in there." He ducked into his room to grab his backpack before returning to the kitchen, opening up the cabinet and begging to toss cans into the backpack, hearing Joey and his mother follow him, his mother resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yugi…"

He set the backpack on the floor and turned to look at her, trying to ignore the fear in her eyes. "Look, Mom, I don't know what else to do. I don't even know what those creatures are saying! The TARDIS used to translate for me before, but it suddenly stopped. It's probably because the Pharaoh is dying," Yugi choked over the word, forcing himself to keep talking, "that it doesn't work. I feel bad for deserting everyone here, but it's just the only thing I can come up with. I can't save the world this time, Mom."

She stared at him for a minute before kissing his forehead and pulling him into a hug. Yugi allowed himself to relax into her embrace for a moment before pulling back, smiling as he picked up the backpack and began filling it again. "Come on. I don't know when those aliens will get down here."

They fell into a steady pattern of work, bags brought out from their rooms and stuff with food and clothes, Yugi shouldering his backpack before pulling Joey away, Junri gathering stuff from their first load into the TARDIS. Yugi almost scolded her for bringing the thermos of tea that she had prepared, but said nothing about it. His mother needed what comfort she could get. Already there was a bag of pictures of his grandfather and himself, along with some of the photo albums. At the sight of that, he nearly broke down, knowing that he was essentially uprooting his mother and his best friend.

He shook the thought off at the next minute, walking into his room and pulling the covers off of the Pharaoh. The Time Lord was still wearing his jacket and pajamas but his feet were bare. Yugi sighed and tugged out some of his old slippers and put them on the Time Lord's feet, glancing around before gathering up the clothes that he had once wore, the clothes of the old Pharaoh. He smiled wistfully, his fingers gently stroking the fabric before he bunched it up and stowed it in his backpack before moving towards the Pharaoh head, Joey walking in then. Between the two of them, they lifted the Time Lord from the bed and walked out onto the balcony.

Yugi trusted Joey to guide him down the steps, watching as his mother followed after them, her arms full of bags and the thermos of hot tea. He turned his head to look over his shoulder as he crossed the lot, smiling when he saw the familiar shape of the TARDIS. Yugi carefully shifted the alien in his arms to pull the key out from under his shirt, fumbling with it for a moment before unlocking the TARDIS and opening the door, carrying the Pharaoh up the ramp before carefully laying him on the floor. Junri followed in a moment later, handing Joey the thermos of tea before rushing back for the next load of bags. Yugi had every intention of going after her when he found himself staring at the console.

"So, what's the plan? We fly this thing out of here?" He looked over at Joey, staring at his friend before slowly shaking his head.

"I can't fly her, Joey, I never could." He gave the TARDIS a pat before slowly circling around the console, hearing the soft hum from the time machine. Yugi shook his head, standing on his tip toes to rest the tips of his fingers against the time rotor. "Even if I did in the past, I don't remember how to anymore. It's all been wiped clean…"

Yugi frowned at that thought, sinking back to the flat of his feet and staring at the console. To get back to the future, he must have flown the TARDIS, but he didn't remember anything other than trying to open the panel to the heart of the TARDIS and then…pain and burning. There was something else, something just on the edge of his consciousness that Yugi couldn't quite get, hesitating before deciding to pursue that memory on another day. He turned to look at Joey and the blonde flopped into the captain's chair, still holding the thermos.

"So, what else can we do?" Yugi shrugged, walking closer to Joey and absently pulling the screen along with him as well. His gaze fell on the Pharaoh, the Time Lord splayed out on the floor. Yugi sighed, letting go of the screen and almost giving into the temptation to walk over when Joey spoke again. "Can we get anything on that screen? News or something?"

"Maybe." Yugi felt along the top, pressing the first button that he came to, only to sigh when nothing happened. He stepped back and closed his eyes, trying to remember what the Pharaoh would have done. There was a flash of gold light, Yugi sure that it was only happening behind his eyes before he reached forward, hitting a few buttons on the top of the screen before pulling a nearby lever, blinking when the screen came up, staring at the hieroglyphic symbols that scrolled across the screen. "There…"

He was aware of Joey's stare, shifting nervously away from his friend going to kneel by the Pharaoh to check up on him. The silence stretched on between them, Yugi embarrassed that he could turn on the screen and not able to fly the TARDIS. And he hadn't even known how to turn on the screen until that light thing. He rubbed his temples, wanting to find a way around the silence. Cautiously, Yugi stood up and glanced at the door, suddenly worried. His mother had been gone too long. "Joey, I'm going to see what's taking Mom so long."

"Alright." Joey raised the thermos of tea and came around to lean at the front of the console as Yugi walked down the ramp. "I'll stay here and guard the Pharaoh and the tea."

"Hey, tea is very important." Yugi gave Joey a mock glare, watching the blonde laugh before he stepped out of the doors, turning around and staring at the cave that they were in. He had a moment to frown and realize that they had not moved when two creatures in red robes grabbed him and pulled him away from the TARDIS. Yugi yelped and struggled, managing to turn himself around to look at the blue box, waving at Joey as the blonde came out to see what had happened. "Shut the door!"

Yugi struggled against the hold of the creatures, watching as Joey quickly spun and threw the thermos back into the TARDIS, slamming the door shut as he was dragged away from the blue box. He turned his attention to the aliens that were hauling him away from the TARDIS, relieved that the Pharaoh was safe. But, for how long was what worried him. He wasn't sure if the Time Lord would survive much longer, even if they didn't know what to do. He glanced back at the TARDIS one more time before looking back up at the gathering of aliens, noticing that a few had skull heads and others looked like humans, except with the muscles of their faces exposed. Yugi tried to struggle away as the apparent leader leaned over and hissed in his face.

There was a moment when he thought that he would immediately killed, but the creature just pulled back, hissing and grunting as it spoke to the others around it. Apparently, it was funny because they broke into laughter, only one refraining from laughing and speaking up. The leader tipped its head before nodding, seeming to be listening intently. Yugi swallowed, about to speak and ask for a translator when he saw two familiar people. He reacted immediately, pulling himself out of the aliens' hold and rushing over to Ryou and Bakura, the latter catching him in his sprint and pulling Yugi behind him.

Ryou grabbed onto his arm, holding him steady as Yugi stared at all the aliens, lowering his voice to speak. "Yugi, is the Pharaoh with you?"

He looked up at Ryou, hating that he would have to tell him the truth and shatter that hopeful look. Yugi swallowed before shaking his head slowly. "We're on our own now, Ryou."

"But, where's the Pharaoh?"

Yugi looked away, shivering as the aliens hissed, looking over them. He reached out to bring Joey close, keeping them together as Bakura stared down the aliens. "He's out of commission and I don't think he-"

He was interrupted as the alien started speaking again, his mouth dropping open in shock as the alien gestured at him. He glanced around at the others, surprised when Bakura began to speak, the man showing him the Blackberry in his hand and giving it a wave to show where he was getting this from. "They say that the colorful spiked one has the clever box." Yugi bristled at the description of himself, but settled to listen to the rest of the translation. "They want you to speak for the planet."

"They can't do that!"

Yugi stared at Ryou as he shouted that, the aliens understanding the tone of voice rather than the words. He rested a hand on Ryou's shoulder, pushing the man back as he stepped forward. "I'll do it."

"Yugi, you can't! They'll kill you."

"Never stopped him." Yugi offered a smile, hoping that he didn't look as shaken as he felt. If there was anything that he had learned from the Pharaoh, it was that showing confidence often threw aliens or people off their stride. Besides, it was the only thing he could think of. And it was worth it to save the lives to save the lives of Joey, Ryou and Bakura. He took a step forward, glancing at Bakura to make sure that he was ready to translate before beginning to speak. "I, um...I address you...according to...article fifteen of the Shadow Proclamation. I command you to leave this world, with all the authority of...the Slitheen parliament of," he shut his eyes and hurried through the word as fast as he could, "Raxicoricofallapatorius and, um...the Gelth Confederacy... as, uh, sanctioned...by the Mighty Jagrafess and... the Daleks! Now, leave this planet in peace!"

There was silence following his announcement, Yugi hoping that the silence boded well from them. He glanced back toward the TARDIS briefly, hoping that they could all make it to the TARDIS before these aliens brought out their weapons. But there was no way to talk about this plan without alerting the aliens what they were doing. He sighed and looked back towards the aliens, hanging his head as they started laughing, flinching at the harsh sound of their laughter. It was only a moment before Bakura started to read off the translation as the alien spoke.

"You speak with stolen words, colorful spiked one." Yugi winced as his head was forced up, the alien sneering at him before shoving him backwards, Joey catching Yugi as he stumbled back, glaring at the alien. "You address the Sycoraxs, the greatest of the races and insult them with words stolen from another's mouth. For that, you will be killed."

"No!" Yugi yelped as Ryou held onto him tightly, watching as the aliens moved closer, hissing and grunting their support. "You can't!"

"They say that they are doing you a favor." Bakura nearly growled the words out. "They will remove him from the planet since he is such a weakling. If this is the best the planet-"

"-can offer, it will be gutted and your people enslaved." All of them stared at the Sycorax leader, Yugi's mouthing the words as the leader spoke, aware that Bakura had stopped translating after a while. The man hadn't needed to, because the Sycorax leader had started speaking their language.

Of course, Joey was the first to point it out. "You're speaking Japanese."

The Sycorax leader hissed, taking up his staff and pointing it at Joey threateningly. "I would not dirty my tongue with your language. I only speak the noble tongue of the Sycorax."

"Yugi, he's speaking Japanese." Joey turned around to look at him, ignoring the continued protests of the Sycorax leader. "I can understand him."

"Yeah." Yugi couldn't help the smile that crossed his face at the realization, completely forgetting about the seriousness of the situation. If they could understand the aliens, then that meant the translation circuit was working. And, if the translation circuit was working then that meant that…Yugi turned around, ignoring the others, his smile widening as he heard the TARDIS door shut, looking at the man who was leaning against the blue box with a smirk on is face. "Did you miss me?"

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 _Please read and review. Constructive criticism is always welcome._


	4. Defender of Earth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Author's Note:** Sorry about this one being a bit late. The internet went down for the night.

**Author's Note:** Sorry about this one being a bit late. The internet went down for the night.

 ****

* * *

 **Chapter Three: Defender of Earth**

" _From the day they arrive on the planet ...blinking step into the sun, there is more to see than can ever be seen, more to do than, no hold on... Sorry, that's_ _The Lion King..."_

-The Doctor

He took a deep breath, feeling the catch in his throat disappear, slowly able to breathe more easily. The pain in his head eased, taking another breath of the scented air and forcing his eyes open. The Pharaoh groaned, blinking and slowly sitting up, staring at the TARDIS. He shifted slightly to push himself up to his feet, clinging to the console of the time machine, his gaze lowering to focus on the half open thermos of tea, the liquid slowly dripping out and sizzling as it hit on something hot beneath the grating and dissolving into steam. The Pharaoh shook his head, feeling the neuron implosion slow down and eventually stop, his second heart beginning to beat again.

The Pharaoh sighed with relief before standing up straight, frowning as he looked around the TARDIS. When he had last been conscious, he had been just outside Yugi's apartment, but now he was in the TARDIS. It didn't take too large a leap of thought to imagine that he had been brought out here, but the reason was beyond him; unless Yugi was trying to keep his family safe. The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes, glancing around before stepping towards the corridor that led deeper into the TARDIS, stopping when the TARDIS gave him a mental nudge toward the doors, the urgency making him turn and stride toward the door, glancing back at the TARDIS before swinging the doors open.

He tensed as he saw the aliens that were menacing the small group of humans, recognizing every human there. He took a short moment to take in the situation before leaning back against his time machine, smiling when Yugi looked his way. The Pharaoh cherished that wide smile before responded with a smirk of his own. "Did you miss me?"

He didn't wait for an answer, his gaze moving to the alien leader, watching as he pulled out a whip. The Pharaoh tensed for a moment, knowing that he had been singled out as the greatest threat at the moment, and he relished it. He had spent too long unable to move. A smile crossed his face as he continued to walk forward, raising an arm as the whip lashed out, his smile fading as the electricity coursed through him. The Time Lord gritted his teeth, managing to get his hand on the whip and giving a sharp tug, the surprised, red robed alien letting go and the electricity stopping. The Pharaoh gave himself a shake, feeling some residual shocks pass through his body.

The alien and him stared at each other for a moment more before the alien reacted, the Pharaoh sidling closer to the ground of humans as the alien hissed, bringing out his staff. "Who are you?"

"One with authority."

"Authority?" The Pharaoh tensed as the alien laughed, giving him a scathing look. "You have none."

The Pharaoh scowled at the insult, reaching up to protect himself as the alien brought the staff down, intending to hit him over the head. He grunted as he caught the staff, straining against the superior strength of the alien before bracing himself against the rocky ground and shoving up, the move surprising the alien enough for him to loosen his grip, the Pharaoh wrenching the staff out of his grip and breaking it over his knee, tossing the halves away with a smile. "And now, neither do you."

He turned and walked away from the stunned alien, keeping an eye on him as he went to check on the humans. For now, he was willing to grant the aliens the benefit of the doubt, but that would disappear if any of the humans were hurt. He shot a glare at the alien leader, walking into the ground and dropping his scowl for a relieved smile. "Everyone alright?"

"Yeah." Yugi gave the breathless reply before rushing forward to hug him, the Pharaoh surprised by the reaction. Dazedly, he wrapped his arms around Yugi and held him close for a moment before releasing him, highly aware that Yugi didn't let go of him. "I thought that…How did you…What happened?"

"Just needed tea. Free radicals and tannin stopped the neuron implosion." He gave a lopsided smile before looking over the rest of the group, noticing the odd look from Ryou and Bakura, nodding to the two of them before glancing over his shoulder at the aliens. "What's been going on here?"

"They've taken control of people. They're ready to jump." Yugi shivered before looking over at the button on a pillar, nodding towards it. "I think they intend to kill them."

"Kill them?"

"Excuse me." Ryou pushed himself forward, breaking the Pharaoh's concentration. The Time Lord turned to look at the human, blinking in confusion and letting one of his arms drop from around Yugi, the other still around his companion's waist. Ryou blushed before looking up at him. "Who are you?"

"I'm the Pharaoh."

"But…" Ryou looked between him and Yugi, shaking his head. "Is it a title or something or…?"

"No, I am the same man." The Pharaoh tipped his head to the side, chuckling to himself before glancing at Yugi. "With a few changes."

They turned at the hiss from the leader, the Pharaoh staring at him before letting go of Yugi and walking towards the leader, watching as it backed away with something like fear in its eyes. The Pharaoh followed it before turning to walk up to the button on it's pillar looking at it before leaning on the wall by it, arms crossed over his chest as the stared down at the alien. "You're controlling people."

The alien didn't deny the fact, but he hissed anyway. The Pharaoh smirked, pushing away from the wall to kneel by the pillar, staring at a panel before opening it, staring at the dark pool of liquid that sat within there. He frowned and dipped his finger in the liquid, standing up and staring at the dot on his finger, scowling at the dark crimson color. He shook his head, wiping it on the pajamas he was wearing before staring at the alien. "Blood control? You are holding them all under blood control."

He heard gasps from the humans, the Pharaoh rolling his eyes before reaching over and slamming his hand down onto the button, ignoring the cries of shock from the humans. He smirked, leaning on the button a second longer than necessary before pulling away, barely listening to the shouts as he looked at the alien. "Want to tell them what happened?" The alien remained silent, the Pharaoh giving a laugh before leaning against the pillar. "No?"

"What did you do?"

The Pharaoh looked over at Ryou, shaking his head. "It was a bluff."

"What?"

"Blood control is like hypnotism, it can't be used to kill the person itself." The Pharaoh laughed, and stretched a bit, turning his gaze to the aliens. "They must have offered you peace. Why haven't you accepted it?"

"We do not listen to such a weak species." The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow as the alien inched forward, watching as the alien's hand strayed toward the sword that hung from its belt. "We have claimed this planet as ours, we issued the surrender. We are their masters and they will obey us."

The Time Lord remained silent, nodding for a moment before stepping away, edging close to one of the other aliens as their leader approached, the Pharaoh glimpsing a hint of steel before moving. He lunged for the sword of the other alien, pulling it cleanly from its place before backing away, watching the aliens hiss in surprise. He smirked, his gaze returning to the leader as it tried to come to terms with this action. "You have given the Earth no chance to defend itself; therefore, I step forward as its champion."

More grumbling came from the aliens, the Pharaoh glancing at the group of humans before returning his gaze to the leader. "By the laws of combat, your own laws, Sycoraxs, I challenge you to fight for the right of conquest." He shook his head with a laugh. "You cannot refuse this."

The Sycorax leader seemed confused that he knew their name but recovered quickly, the Pharaoh stripping off Yugi's jacket and tossing it to the human as the Sycorax drew his own sword. "I accept this foolish challenge."

The Pharaoh nodded, switching his hold from the hilt to the blade of the sword to hold it up, the two saluting each other like that before kneeling, planting the point on the ground and staring at the Sycorax leader. He heard the alien laugh again, his gaze moving back to Yugi before turning it back to the alien at it spoke. "For the planet?"

"For the planet." He pushed off the ground and blocked the first wild blow, finding himself parrying every attack and searching for an opening. Quickly, he found that he wouldn't be able to attack, just retreat and try to avoid the slashes. The Sycorax was trying to beat him down, something that the taller alien could easily do. He stumbled back another few steps, listening to the humans calling out encouragement and warnings, wincing as his elbow scraped against the wall, realizing that he had just been backed into a passage.

He cursed as he stumbled backward, the Sycorax not allowing him to move from the passage. The Pharaoh took a deep breath and lunged forward, his arms trembling as he blocked the attack, using the moment to glance over his shoulder, spotting a door and a button that would open it. If he could get out into the open, then he would probably stand a better chance. He would have room to move.

The Pharaoh was shoved back, ducking a slash to his head before hurriedly retreating, switching his grip on the sword to his left hand to reach out with his right to press the button, stumbling back onto the outside of the ship. He hopped awkwardly over a large rock, looking around to find a large open space, the smile returning his is face. Out here, he would have an advantage. Out there, there was less a chance of him getting cornered. This was one challenge that he wasn't going to lose.

He moved to one side as the Sycorax leader walked out into the open, swinging his sword confidently, the other Sycoraxs escorting the group of humans out. The Pharaoh scowled as he saw Yugi shoved out, the human nearly falling over on the rough terrain. He was about to shout to attract the attention of the Sycorax when the leader lunged forward, the Pharaoh falling back again as the Sycorax when back to his battering strategy. The Pharaoh dodged to one side, making an awkward strike to one side that cut the robes of the Sycorax. There were hisses from the gathered crowds, the Pharaoh shaking his head and backing up, turning his head to the side and realizing how close to the edge he had allowed himself to be driven.

The Time Lord turned back just in time to block an attack to his stomach, his eyes widening as the Sycorax used the pommel of his sword against his head, the Pharaoh stumbling back in pain. The Sycorax took the chance to hit him again, this time on the other side of his head. He grunted and took a step back, tripping over a rock and falling onto his back. He tightened his hand on the sword so he wouldn't lose it, glaring up at the leader and getting ready to stab upward when the Sycorax leader moved first.

The alien brought his sword down onto his right hand, the Pharaoh arching up with a scream of pain as the alien severed his hand at the wrist. He curled towards his injured hand, panting for breath and gritting his teeth to keep cries of pain from escaping him. He could hear the Sycorax celebrating, opening one eye before bracing his left hand against the ground and slowing getting up from the ground, swaying slightly as he got up, looking up as Yugi shouted out his name, the human rushing towards him.

"No!" His voice cracked over the word, the Pharaoh cradling his injured arm close to him. "If you interfere with the challenge then they win."

The Sycorax turned around, the Pharaoh trying to stop the small noises of pain that kept escaping. He shook his head and looked up at the Sycorax leader, briefly enjoying the surprise on the alien's face before focusing on the stump, catching the soft shine of gold light, a smile crossing his face despite the pain. The Sycorax hissed and backed away. "You have already lost, weak human."

"Oh, but I'm not human." The Pharaoh grinned, slowly standing up and raising his right arm with a smile. "I've never been happier to say that. And, you will find, that this fight is not finished yet. I'm still fifteen hours within my regeneration cycle. So I can do this."

He flinched slightly at the initial pain before he fixed a steady gaze on the Sycorax leader, watching the surprise play across the alien's face as a hand re-grew from the stump, the Pharaoh sighing with relief as his hand formed, the last remnants of energy spinning off into nothing. He gave his new hand a shake, wiggling the fingers to check if everything was in working order before looking back at the alien, finding that the Sycorax was almost trembling. "Witchcraft."

The Pharaoh shook his head, advancing a step and watching the alien retreat. "Time Lord."

"Pharaoh!" He turned at Yugi's shout, smiling as he saw his companion lunge for the nearest guard, pulling the sword out of the alien's belt and tossing it to him. The Time Lord moved back a step, deftly catching the sword by the hilt before coming en gaurde again, the Sycorax leader staring at him. The Pharaoh knew what the alien was debating over, whether to finish him off or risk surrendering and asking for peace. The regeneration display had been impressive; the Pharaoh was more inclined to admit that he had been lucky with that one.

His answer came in the form of a charge from the Sycorax leader, the Pharaoh swinging his sword up to counter the blow before twisting slightly, his blade sliding from the Sycorax's and moving to cut through the robes. The alien jumped to the side, the Pharaoh anticipating the move and lunging forward, smirking as the Sycroax leader began backing up. He was being treated as a threat now instead of a play thing and he had the Sycorax leader on the run.

The Pharaoh caught one of the frantic attacks that the alien made, flicking his blade slightly and sending the Sycorax's sword flying, the Sycorax staring at the sword as the Pharaoh rammed the pommel of his blade into the alien's stomach. The Sycorax made a keening noise before falling onto his knees, clutching at his stomach. The Pharaoh raised his blade, resting the cold metal against the Sycorax's throat. "I win."

The alien hissed, reaching out for his sword, the Pharaoh glancing to the side and carefully pushing the sword away with his foot, not looking away from the defeated alien. He pressed the blade harder against the Sycorax's throat, waiting until the alien had gone still again before speaking. "Swear on the blood of your species that you will leave this planet and never return."

"I…" The alien paused, looking back over the other Sycoraxs before looking at him, the Pharaoh withstanding the scrutiny. He forced himself not to show emotion as he saw a spark of fear in the Sycorax's eyes. Now he was being considered a threat, enough of one to even make the Sycorax fear him. The leader glanced to the side, still thinking over what to do before it finally nodded. "I swear."

"Good." The Pharaoh took a step away, moving to collect the other sword before throwing them both off to one side, out of the way of the others so that he would see if someone moved for the weapons. He rolled his shoulders, feeling them ache slightly from the hard blows that the Sycorax had been using against them, the pain forgotten as Yugi came bounding up to him to nearly tackle him to the ground in a hug. The Pharaoh smiled, holding Yugi close and enjoying the moment.

Reluctantly, he pulled back, waving away the offer of a jacket before walking back towards the ship with Yugi at his side. He glanced down at Yugi's hand, the sudden urge to hold it coming over him. And, there was nothing holding him back anymore, all those stupid reasons that he had invented before and that cold shield of indifference was gone. But he still couldn't reach out across the distance, not without getting another chance to explain to Yugi what had happened. His owed his companion that much. The Pharaoh sighed, forcing himself to smile as Yugi turned to look his way at the sound, his companion hesitating before deciding to speak. "So, this ship is made out of rock?"

"Yes." The Pharaoh bent down to pick up one of the smaller stones, holding it up to show Yugi. "They colonize on asteroids and then turn them into their ships."

He tensed at the sound of something getting to its feet behind them, his grip shifting on the rock. A moment later, he heard a scream from the Sycorax leader, Yugi turning around to gape as the alien stood up, ready to charge. The Pharaoh didn't bother to turn around, throwing the rock in his hand at the button by the door, not turning around to watch what happened.

There was the faint whir of mechanics before a few dull thuds as a section of the ship was retracted, the Sycorax leader screaming as he fell through the section an towards the Earth below.

The humans and aliens turned to look at him as he walked towards the still open door to the interior of the ship, pausing to look back at them before shaking his head and pointing at the Sycorax. "You gave me your surrender and infringed upon it. No second chances."

Yugi rushed up to him. "Pharaoh?"

"I'm not going to kill them." He walked into the cool, dark interior of the ship, blinking to adjust his eyes before looking over at Yugi. "I'm going to issue my demands and send them on their way. Now they are the ones who are weak."

He heard a soft noise from Yugi, turning his head slightly to watch as the humans gathered close to him, still frightened of the Sycorax, not that he blamed them in the least. They had done well for their first solo encounter with aliens, offering peace first instead of violence. And it hurt him that he had to be the one to turn to violence, but he shook it off. He knew this race, he knew that it would have had to come to that, especially as he still appeared weak from regeneration.

All those thoughts were pushed aside as he walked into the main room, hearing the whispers of the aliens slow and then cease as they stared at him. The Pharaoh gave a grateful nod, before glaring at them all, watching them stiffen. Peripherally, he was aware that Yugi was edging forward to stand slightly behind him, glad of the silent support. He cleared his throat, giving the room one more look before speaking. "You leader, before he turned to cowardly treachery, agreed to leave this planet to the peace that the inhabitants first offered. As the victor as determined by the rite of combat, I decree that you shall never return to this planet. And, when you see others who wish to use this planet as you did, and if you tell of the wealth that can be made from it, remember to tell them this. It is defended!"

Silence followed his speech, the Pharaoh watching as one of the Sycorax nodded, the others following suit. He kept his glare on all of them, even as they activated the transmat beam that would return them to Earth. There was a moment of disorientation before they were set back on Earth, the Pharaoh doing a quick head count before looking at the TARDIS, smiling when he realized that they were all back safely.

"Hey, they brought us back!" Joey grinned, lifting a hand to the sky and pointing at the ship. "You run! Run awa-"

"Wait." The Pharaoh glared at him, watching as Joey quailed for a moment, his eyes fixed on the sky as the large ship began to ponderously rise, turning in place to watch it begin to gather speed as it moved, smiling to himself as he realized that they were leaving without a parting shot, something that he wouldn't have put past the Sycorax at this point. He sighed with relief, glancing over at Joey before motioning that he could go on.

The blonde hesitated a moment before jumping up and down, shouting at the retreating ship. "That's right, run! You heard the man, it is defended!"

"Yes!" The Pharaoh started as he suddenly had an armful of Yugi, the human laughed and spinning the alien around in a circle before rushing off to give the same treatment to Joey, leaving the Time Lord's hearts pounding. He gave Ryou and Bakura a shaky smile, turning away when Ryou grabbed the other man and pulled him into a dip, kissing Bakura forcefully.

He was the first to spot Junri rushing toward them, surprised when she nearly picked him up with the force of her hug. He barely withheld his yelp of surprise, letting out a nervous laugh. "Oh, you did it you crazy alien! You sent them away."

"Mom!" Yugi rushed over and hugged his mother, the Pharaoh straightening the pajama top that he wore as he backed away, looking up at the fading light in the sky and sighing. His internal time sense said that he had missed about a day, glancing over at Yugi, barely listening to the conversation between them as he turned in place, acquainting himself with the sight of Domino through new eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. The people are coming down off the roofs and that spaceship is gone." He caught the end of a smile in his direction, not quite sure what to make of it. The Pharaoh was turning away when something caught his eye, standing still as he watched a green beam rise into the sky. Mere seconds later, three other beams from different directions joined it, the Pharaoh spinning in place and watching in horror as all four beams rose to the place where the Sycorax ship would be, the Time Lord feeling his stomach turn.

"No!' He looked over to where Ryou was standing, the human shaking his head in a mixture of horror and disbelief. "No, they were leaving!"

Ryou trembled, Bakura racing forward to catch him, the two holding onto each other as they stared up at the sky where the beams of light met, watching as they were deactivated as suddenly as they were activated. The Pharaoh looked at them, narrowing his eyes only to be matched with a glare from Bakura. The man shook his head and snorted in disgust. "Like we would order something like that. I thought you would trust us, Pharaoh."

He didn't respond, not bother to look up when the two walked past him, tensing as he felt something in time shift, staring at Ryou as he walked past. "Let's go see what parts of our careers we can salvage from this."

The Pharaoh blinked, wondering what had happened when he was attacked by Joey, Yugi and Junri, his worry pushed away as he smiled at all of the Junri babbling about getting Christmas dinner ready. "No arguments this time, mister. You are staying."

"I promised Yugi that I would." The Pharaoh smiled at his companion before looking down at his clothes before looking at the TARDIS. "Although, I do want to change into something else. Key, Yugi?"

He didn't miss how Yugi clutched the key closer to him, the Time Lord shaking his head and walking over, gently holding Yugi's wrist. "I just need to get into the TARDIS. I promise that I will give it back."

"Don't disappear on me?" It was less of an order and more of a question, the Pharaoh nodding and accepting the key from his companion. Giving him a smile before turning and walking to the TARDIS, watching as the three made their way back to Yugi's apartment, the Time Lord watching his companion until he couldn't see Yugi anymore. Then, with a sigh, he opened up the TARDIS door.

The Pharaoh walked into the TARDIS, running his hand up the railing that ran along the ramp and into the interior. He chuckled to himself, feeling the hum of his ship in his mind. He jogged up the few feet to the console, running his hands over the assortment of junk that he had cobbled together to keep the old ship flying and hearing the TARDIS purr in response, the sound pausing for a moment before returning with a hint of worry. The Pharaoh shook his head, reaching up to stroke the center column, pouting when he realized that he was shorter than he had been. "It's alright, girl. I'm fine now."

He leaned on the console again, staring at his hands. He hadn't got a chance to check out this latest regeneration, too busy with expelling excess energy and fighting off the next race of aliens that had wanted to take the humans from Earth. The Pharaoh smirked and pushed away from the console, turning on his heel to stare at the door of the TARDIS, striking a pose as he thought back on the sword fight. The sword fight that he had done entirely in borrowed pajamas.

The Pharaoh cursed and sprinted out of the console room, running down the hallways of the TARDIS as he sprinted for the wardrobe. He had promised Yugi that he would turn up for Christmas dinner. He couldn't miss that, not when it was _Yugi_.

He came to a hopping stop at the base of the staircase, using the railing to swing himself up ease and bounding up the stairs. He smirked at the ease he was able to tackle the stairs with, remembering past times when he had to wait for Yugi to scramble up stairs with his short legs.

The Pharaoh swung out into the space that was his wardrobe, craning his head up to look at the over nine hundred years of clothes he had acquired, most of it having come from past companions. There was even some of Yugi's stuff that had spread up to here, The Pharaoh brushing his fingers over a jacket that was thrown over the nearby suit of armor before walking in among the racks of clothes.

Quickly losing count of how many rows he walked through and only having grabbed a red scarf to wrap absently around his neck, the Pharaoh found himself shaking his head. If worst came to worse, he could always revert to his old outfit…if he could even find it in his new size. He growled to himself, walking past something before backtracking, his eyes fixed on the leather pants that hung on a hanger. He hesitated in front of them before rolling his eyes and grabbing him. Apparently, this body had a thing for leather.

He continued stalking down the rows, pausing at a section of button up shirts, his eyes roving over the different colors before he reached out for a red one; it was Christmas after all. He moved to the front of the room, discarding the scarf by a collection of other scarves, snatching up a long black coat as he moved past it.

The borrowed pajamas were quickly taken off, replaced with the leather pants and the shirt, which had the next cut in a low 'v'. The Pharaoh held the jacket in one hand as he walked up to the full length mirror, looking over the outfit for a moment before shaking his head. It needed something more.

A rumble from the TARDIS drew his attention to a display of belts. He smiled and reached out to pet a section of his ship, his other hand reaching out for two of the belts, one going around his waist while the other was slung low over his hips. There was another rumble and something was knocked down. The Pharaoh gave his ship a confused look before bending over to reach for it, holding up what looked like a dog collar. He shrugged and put it around his neck, smiling at the image that the mirror reflected.

He took a moment longer, actually looking at this new him now that he got the chance. He was short, much to his dismay, but he was getting used to it. The things that really caught his attention were the red eyes he now had instead of blue and the spiky hair that was on his head, nearly identical to the hairstyle that Yugi had. Jagged blonde bangs hug around his face, some extending up into the black portion of his hair and red on the very tips.

The Pharaoh smiled to himself, pulling on the black coat, the fabric hanging down to his calves, and then turning in front of the mirror. Yes, he could get used to this younger, tan, muscled, much more attractive version of himself _._ He gave himself a smile, wincing as the TARDIS flashed him an image of him and Yugi in a compromising position. He shook his head to clear it, glaring at his ship as he started to walk back to the staircase. "None of that."

The TARDIS just gave a sound that reminded the Pharaoh of a chortle, the Time Lord rolling his eyes again, walking down to the control room. He stopped as he stared at what little was in there, stopping to quickly secure the cap on the thermos before walking over to Yugi's backpack, cautiously opening it up to reveal his old set of clothes. He sighed and riffled through his pockets, pulling out everything that he had in there and in the pockets of his old coat before transferring them to his new coat, taking a final look around the console before swinging the backpack over his shoulder, still holding onto the thermos. He could always help Yugi haul the rest of the stuff back up to his apartment later.

He paused as he remembered the look on Yugi's face when he had changed, the shock and horror; the question if he could change back. The Pharaoh bit his lip and looked away, wondering if his companion would ask to remain behind, not sure if he could allow Yugi to go. Still, that couldn't keep his mood down and soon he was nearly running out the doors of the TARDIS, giving the columns a pet before he stumbled out of the blue box, locking the door with the key that he had borrowed from Yugi and fixing his hair before sliding his hands back into his pocket, walking up to the entrance to the apartments where Yugi lived with his mother.

His mind kept circling back to the thought that Yugi might leave him because he had changed; the Pharaoh trying to push it away as much as he could. He gave his head one final shake before he looked up, aware that he had automatically come to a stop at the door to Yugi's apartment. He looked down at his hand that was resting on the doorknob, glaring at it as he realized that it was the one that had been cut off before. The alien spent a moment staring at his hand before finally opening the door, swinging it open only to have the mouth watering aroma of fried chicken drift back to him. He gave a harsh swallow before shutting the door behind him and walking inside.

Yugi was easy to spot, sitting at the small table that they had set up in the main room of the apartment, speaking with his mother about something before he even realized that the Pharaoh had entered the room. Yugi turned his head to face him, a brilliant smile crossing his face as he looked at him. That and the soft light that was coming from the lamp behind Yugi made him look beautiful.

The Pharaoh realized he was smiling back at that moment, spreading his arms and Yugi stood up and ran from his seat, barreling into him for a hug. He pulled Yugi close, the smile not leaving his face as Yugi laughed, the most beautiful laugh that he had ever heard in all his years of existence. Yugi pulled away too soon for his tastes, grabbing his hand and leading him over to the seat that had been left open, apparently especially for him.

He sat down at the table, watching as Junri brought out the food. With amazing speed, Yugi served the Pharaoh and himself a plate each of fried chicken, sitting back as Joey ransacked the basket, Junri barely drawing back with a piece of her own as the blonde fell to his meal hungrily. They all exchanged glances before laughing, the Pharaoh the slowest to join in. He was quickly remembering the reason that he avoided participating in this kind of gathering; it reminded him too much of his own family; his father, mother, brothers and sisters, his wife and their children, his grandchildren, all of them gone, destroyed by the Time War.

The Pharaoh looked away for a moment, gathering himself together before looking at Yugi with a smile. Still, it was better than before, the memories of the Time War faded somewhat. They were still painful, the Pharaoh couldn't think of a time when they wouldn't be, but at least they didn't hurt as badly. It was one of the positive things about regeneration. He could breathe a little easier now, smile and laugh a little quicker; but underneath it all he was still the one who had destroyed his own planet. He could feel his own loathing for that action still and knew that it would bubble to the surface at times. But at least he was no longer living like that.

Still, he felt slightly removed from the group, partially his own fault. They had already been close before he had barged in and stolen Yugi from them, but it meant the world to him that he was being offered a place in their family. It felt nice to belong to something again instead of being the survivor of the Time War, the last of the Time Lords.

He looked away from Yugi, barely following the topic of the conversation to see Joey reaching for the last piece of chicken. The Pharaoh just glared at the blonde before reaching out and taking it, smirking as Joey stared at him flabbergasted. "Hey…"

"If you can't beat a nine hundred year old man to the last piece of chicken, Joey, you're getting slow." The Pharaoh winked, Joey staring at him for a moment before laughing.

"Well, now we know why you took so long getting here." He glanced over at Yugi, about to take a bite of the chicken. "You had to carefully apply your make-up to hide the wrinkles."

The Pharaoh stared at his companion, not moving as Yugi carefully pulled the chicken from his limp fingers and took a bite, throwing the Pharaoh a wink, further impeding the Time Lord's brain functions. But the fact that Yugi was joking with him again gave him hope that he could salvage the botched regeneration. Although, it wasn't his fault, he had always been horrible at regenerating when compared to the other Time Lords.

He turned to glare at Joey, the blonde nearly falling from his chair. He was about to come up with his own retort when he realized that the previous nickname just didn't sit right on his new tongue. It would come out as a friendly endearment instead of an insult, that fact alone discouraging him. Now he would have to come up with a new nickname, which would make his retort even later. In the end, he decided to let Yugi have his victory, sure that he would come up with something that would completely floor his companion later.

The Pharaoh shook his head, getting up from the table as Junri gathered their dishes, Yugi helping transport everything back into the kitchen while Joey turned on the television to check on the news. As much as Junri pretended to ignore the move, the Time Lord could see her trying to listen discretely, probably wanting to know as much as all of them what the rest of Japan was saying about the spaceship that had hovered over Domino and the people who had been ready to jump from roofs. Instead, they got a flustered Ryou, the ever present Bakura hovering in the background.

He frowned and leaned forward, watching the two being hassled by reporters, Ryou frantically trying to field off the questions to be able to answer more, the look in his eyes one of resignation rather than fear. The Pharaoh glanced over his shoulder at Yugi before turning his attention back to the television, suddenly realizing what he had felt before was; it had been a shift in time. Now the golden age that would have been led by Ryou Nakamura would never come. Something, or someone as the Pharaoh was more willing to bet, had changed it.

" _Sources are saying that you ordered the ship to be destroyed as it left our atmosphere. Is this true?"_

On the screen, Ryou's eyes narrowed. _"What sources?"_

" _I'm not at liberty to say."_ The reporter seemed flustered. _"But they have told me enough to say that it was completely unauthorized. Why did you do it?"_

" _I never authorized any show of force towards that spaceship."_

" _Why didn't you? They were prepared to kill humans?"_

" _They were leaving."_

" _They could always come back."_

" _Listen,"_ Ryou leaned forward, staring at all the reporters, _"I spoke with them and demanded that they never return. Others on my team of negotiators were able to ensure that they would not return, and to spread the message not to threaten the Earth. But, because the ship was shot down on orders that were_ not my own _, that message will never get out. I just have one last thing to say to the people who did shoot that ship down, on your head be it. You have just condemned the Earth to suffer more attacks like that and I hope that you are ready."_

Ryou turned and walked out, nearly dragging Bakura with him and ignoring the clamoring of the reporters. The television was shut off a moment later by Joey, the Pharaoh aware that all the humans were turning to look at him. The Pharaoh just shrugged. "He did have a point."

"What now, Pharaoh?" It was Yugi who spoke, the human flopping down in the chair. The Pharaoh stared at him for a while before shrugging.

"We go on our own way, the usual." He glanced up at Junri and Joey before giving a slow nod. "But the Earth will have to get better and negotiating, I won't be here all the time you know."

"Count on us, Pharaoh." Joey smiled, the Pharaoh nearly laughing at the overconfidence shown by the blonde. If only Joey knew how hard it would be to keep some order of peace.

"Well, enough of that." Junri looked at them all before gesturing to the pile of presents on the floor, the tree nonexistent since the one planted by the pilot fish had tried to kill them. "We've got presents here and it's time we opened them. It is Christmas after all."

Joey gave a whoop of excitement, scooting closer to the presents as the Pharaoh sat on the floor, leaning back against the sofa as he watched. To his surprise, Yugi sat down next to him, almost leaning on him. The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow at the restraint at that before deciding to remain silent, taking his little victories where he could.

* * *

 _Please read and review. Constructive criticism is always welcome._


	5. Restart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Chapter Four: Restart**

**Chapter Four: Restart**

" _Danger is just the bits in between."_

-The Doctor

Miho panted for breath as she worked the key in the lock, hating that it chose now of all times to get stuck. Of all the days, it was not the one to be locked out of this apartment. She held her breath and turned the key again, breathing a sigh of relief as she rushed into the hallway, carefully pulling off her shoes before padding deeper into the hallway, her stomach turning nervously as no one answered her. Usually, he would have noticed by now and come to see her, that smile on his face. But she had the horrible feeling that something had happened to him, that feeling getting worse the longer she walked down the quiet hallway.

"Miho? Is that you?" She relaxed at the familiar voice calling her name, resting one hand over her quickly beating heart before nodding to herself. Everything was alright.

"Yes. It's me." She hurried down the hall and into the main room, talking as she did so. "I heard about the stuff on the news earlier, and I would have come over but then that big ship came and I was scared. So I came over as soon as I could and-What happened to you?"

Namu looked sheepishly over his shoulder, his left ankle propped up on a pillow with an icepack draped over it. The blonde cleared his throat nervously before reaching up the shift the icepack, Miho rushing over to kneel on the floor, absently straightening out her skirt as she did so. "I'm fine. It's nothing horrible."

"Namu…"

He looked like he was about to argue for a minute before he shook his head, tangling one hand in his blonde hair as he leaned back against the arm rest. "I don't remember much. One minute I was getting things ready for tonight and the next, I was standing on the edge of the roof."

Miho gasped, covering her mouth with her hands as she stared at her friend in shock. "You were…you were one of the ones on the roof?"

"Yeah and that's how I got this." Namu gestured at his ankle. "I realized I was on the edge and panicked. I guess I moved too fast because I hurt my ankle. Nothing bad I guess, probably just turned it. I'll be fine for tonight though."

She bit her lip, looking up at her friend's bright lavender eyes before shaking her head. "I would understand if we-"

"No!" Namu reached down to grab one of her hands, carefully cradling it in his own. "I'll be fine for tonight. It's special."

Miho blushed and sat back on her heels, Namu letting her hand go as he reached over the arm of the sofa to look for something. She glanced down at the floor, trying to ignore the feeling of butterflies in her stomach. She had only felt this was before with Yugi, and it was a feeling that she thought had been reserved only for him. But then there was Namu, the man who had been so kind to her when Yugi had thoughtlessly shoved her away, preferring that alien to his own girlfriend.

Namu had been the one to encourage her to go after her dreams, contributing some of his own large salary to her college fund, despite her protests. But she had been able to return and was now working as a secretary for a Councilor in the Diet. She actually wanted to get into politics, Miho finding the give and take of government fascinating; and the fact that the salaries were very good encouraged her further. Still, it was something that she had always wanted to do and yet hadn't had the courage. But Namu had helped her. He was also her ride to work, as Namu himself was a part of the House of Councilors.

She smiled to herself, brushing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, realizing that she had gone back to dying it again; stopping on the color that Namu seemed to enjoy the most. And she had started to dress up whenever they went somewhere together, not to the point where it would look like a date, but it was still better than the jeans and t-shirts that she had been wearing before. She recognized the signs, but she hadn't wanted to admit to herself what they had meant, until now.

"Miho," she looked up at Namu straightened, holding a brightly wrapped present in his hands, "I know we haven't known each other for that long, but you have been a lifesaver. You're always around when I need you and you've been the best friend a guy could ask for. Well, the best friend that's a girl. And I know you've just gotten over a bad break up. And I know that this is probably too soon but…but…"

"But what?"

"Would you like to…go out with me?"

She stared at him for a moment before reaching out to take the present, carefully setting it aside before looking at Namu, finding that she couldn't speak. It wasn't long before he looked dejected, nodding and mumbling to himself as he settled back down. Miho shook her head and laughed, propping herself up on the sofa and laughing. "Hold on. While it is too soon, I haven't said no."

"You haven't said yes either."

"Well, for my best boyfriend," his eyes widened at her choice of words, "I hope that this is enough."

She leaned forward to kiss him, watching as Namu's eyes went wide before he relaxed, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. They pulled back a moment later, Miho snuggling as close to him as her awkward position would allow. They remained like that for a moment before Miho pulled back, straightening her shirt and skirt before looking towards the kitchen, placing Namu's present to her on a table. "I'll open that after dinner. And I left yours at my place. I was too busy worrying about you."

"Makes sense. What do you want to do?"

"Well, how do leftovers and a movie sound?"

"Leftovers and a movie it is. Merry Christmas." Namu laughed, reaching down to hand her the icepack. "Just put that back, I've been icing my ankle since I came down from the roof, it should be fine for now. Movie choice?"

"Whatever you feel like." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before bustling into the kitchen, leaving Namu to slowly sit up on the sofa, swinging his legs so both feet rested on the floor. Miho was aware of his gaze on her back, smiling to herself before moving over to the fridge. "What do you want?"

"Whatever is in there is good." She busied herself getting their food ready, not noticing that Namu dragged his sleeve across his lips with a look of disgust, shaking his head before getting up. He walked over to the rack of movies that he had and selected one at random before moving to put it into the player, not limping the entire time.

* * *

Ryou flopped onto their bed, pressing his face into the pillow and hoping that it would be enough to smother him. He groaned when he realized that he was still breathing, turning his head to the side as the mattress dipped as Bakura sat down on the bed. He stared at his lover for a moment before offering a shaky smile. "At least that's done with."

Bakura just rolled his eyes, not saying anything. Ryou pressed his face back into his pillow, waiting a moment before flopping onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. The interview had been as bad as he had thought. Torchwood had given out just enough information for it to be twisted and used against him, leaving him sounding like a petulant child in his responses. But he could do nothing more, he was trapped now. He could already that nothing else that he proposed would get done, the misinformation by Torchwood enough for that. And, he was sure that the institute would try and get him out of office as soon as possible. He was only in trouble because he knew about Torchwood. The next mayor would be lucky enough to never find out.

"So, what are you going to do?" Ryou jumped as Bakura spoke, too used to the silence.

"I don't know, Bakura. And I won't be able to do much, I'm blocked now. The rest of my term will be filled with failure." He gave a shaky smile. "And I probably won't get re-elected, so there goes my political career."

"Is this you giving up?"

"This is me making a tactical retreat and regrouping. Right now, I don't have a plan, so I defer to your preferred method of just barging in."

Bakura laughed at that, lying down on the bed and turning to face Ryou, tapping his fingers against the bed covers. "Well, we could always try another city, but that would just lead to this again. But I could support you."

"I'm not a woman, Bakura."

"I know…" The way Bakura let the sentence trail off said more than his words. Bakura was not a man who enjoyed public displays of affection and, even in private, he was conservative. Ryou had yet to figure out the real reason for this, but he was not going to press. He had grown used to reading between the lines for the true meaning behind the words. Ryou smiled and rested a hand over Bakura's offering a soft smile.

"We'll figure this out. After all, it's not the end of the world. There are other jobs that I'm sure that I'm qualified for and-"

"U.N.I.T." Ryou was confused by Bakura's outburst, staring at his lover as Bakura thought something over. The man smiled and scooted closer to Ryou, smiling as he explained. "They'll never believe the crap that Torchwood spews about us; Torchwood constantly undermines their authority so they'll be glad to take us."

"I don't know…"

"Listen, we have experience dealing with aliens. That performance on the spaceship alone probably earns you a place and they've been watching us. It would be simple to get a job with them."

"Bakura, I'm not quite sure…" Ryou bit his lip and stared at their bed, suddenly wanting to rush out into the public and shout about the lies that Torchwood had been feeding them. But then, he would become a target. And Torchwood wouldn't hesitate to get him out of their way; he had seen the evidence of that. He growled to himself, shifting in Bakura's hold before pulling away, trying to reason his way through their choices, finding that they already had little to go on. "Say we are allowed into U.N.I.T, what then? They're a military force. The United Nations uses them to keep tabs on everything alien."

"Except for what Torchwood does."

"Yes, except for Torchwood. But Torchwood is only here because of whatever they are doing with the Kaiba Corp tower. I live in the hope that they will just scamper on back to England where they belong." Ryou crossed his arms, feeling like a petulant child with the move. "But this isn't about Torchwood, it's about U.N.I.T. It's military, Bakura."

"It's only military because it has to be."

"No, I've checked over their records. There were some instances where they took action when peace could have been made. I don't want to _kill_ aliens, Bakura, I want some kind of peace. I don't think I could kill aliens."

"You might not have to." Bakura got up, Ryou moving to sit on the edge of the bed, while Bakura went to dig through the desk on one side of the room. He waited patiently for his lover to come back, surprised when Bakura held up a folder before tossing it onto the bed. "I did some digging as well. It's amazing what you can find if you go deep enough."

Ryou opened up the file, staring at the familiar image of the Pharaoh, the Pharaoh that he had known before today. "The Pharaoh?"

"He was there with the experts. I didn't think about it until a few months back, but then I started looking. Apparently he worked closely with U.N.I.T before, in the early days." Bakura's smile wavered for a moment before he shrugged. "Works closely. He never resigned. Technically, he's still part of their staff, which gives them the right to haul them in whenever they need him, if they can find him."

Ryou nodded absently, skimming over the papers and wondering where Bakura had managed to find these. Some part of him didn't want to know, Bakura was very good at getting into things he wasn't supposed to. But that made him irreplaceable as an aid, Bakura would always get the information that he wanted, it was only a matter of time. The only place that Bakura hadn't been able to get into was Torchwood, but not for a lack of trying. He forced himself to stop reading the papers, looking up at his lover and nodding slowly. "This might work."

"It's our best chance." Bakura quickly gathered the papers and hid them away, giving Ryou a wink. "You didn't see any of that."

"Of course not." Ryou rolled his eyes, yelping as Bakura picked him up and settled him on the bed again, Ryou staring up at his lover. "What now?"

"What now?" Bakura chuckled, the sound making Ryou shiver. "I think we should celebrate the fact that we came out of that alive." Ryou moaned as Bakura began to kiss down his neck, wrapping his arms around Bakura's shoulder to pull him closer. He felt his lover smile against his neck, squealing as Bakura nipped as his skin. "It's not everyday that you face off against aliens and live."

Ryou moaned in agreement, arching off the bed as Bakura slid his hands under his shirt. "Sounds good to me."

* * *

The man turned down an alley, blinking in surprise before smiling widely, walking down the dark space. He paused for a moment to kick aside the sword, kneeling down beside the severed hand. The man examined it for a while, twisting his body to look at the stump where the hand had once been joined to the body, surprised when there was no blood there. He glanced around the alley, giving the sword a long look before shrugging his backpack off of his shoulder and setting it on the ground. He unzipped it, flinching before gently putting the hand inside of it and zipping it back up. The hand would hold until he could get back home, which just left the sword.

He stared at it for a while before shrugging and walking to the nearest dumpster and shoving it into the depths. A Torchwood team would come around eventually to see what they could scavenge from the mess. It didn't matter much if they found a sword; it would just become a decoration in some executive's office, a trophy of honor where there was none. The man had a good idea of whose office it would end up in, forcing himself not to grit his teeth at the thought of the woman; a leader in the old style of Torchwood if he had ever seen one.

He shook his head, quickly moving away from the alley and digging a piece of paper out of his pocket. He stared at the address before pulling a small gift out of his pocket, smiling at the sight of the thing before gently placing them back, watching the old military coat flare out around him. Even after all his mental complaining about it, the coat wasn't half bad. If anything, it was more like an old friend. Plus, it kept him very warm, something that he couldn't complain about in his line of work. The man smiled, checking the numbers of the small houses before coming to a stop in front of one. The scrap of paper was checked again before he walked up and knocked on the door, hearing someone moving about inside.

The door was opened, revealing a man with messy black hair that rose up into spikes and blue eyes. "Yes?"

The man smiled. "Hello. You are Hasake Fudo?"

"Yes. And you are?"

"Captain Duke Devlin." Duke smiled at the man, nearly chuckling at the resemblance between Hasake and his chief technician. "Sorry for calling so late and at this time of year, but someone wanted me to bring something to you."

He dug around in his pocket and produced the present. Hasake took it carefully, staring at him for a moment before looking down at the package, his mouth dropping open in shock and his hands shaking as he read who it was from. He glanced up at Duke before looking down at the present again, Duke taking a small step forward. "I also have news of your son."

"Yusei?" The name came out unsteadily, Duke smiling and nodding.

"Yes."

"My son…Is he alright?"

Duke looked around before nodding towards the interior of the small house. "This isn't a matter to be discussed outside, Mr. Fudo."

Hasake stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Of course, come in."

Duke thanked him, walking inside before slipping off his shoes and setting his backpack down, giving the back one last look before following Hasake into the sitting room. He paused as he caught a glimpse at the family portrait, smiling at the infant that Hasake and his wife were holding. "He was a cute kid."

"Hm? Yes, yes he was." Duke watched Hasake sit down carefully on the sofa, still cradling the present like it was the most precious thing in the world. "Now, can you tell me about him."

"Of course. But, just remember, if anyone asks, I was never here."

Hasake frowned. "How did he get into that much trouble?"

Duke didn't bother questioning the man to know how he reached that conclusion. If Yusei was anything like his father, then both men were brilliant. "I can only tell you so much and I hope it is enough."

"Any news is good news."

"Then, first off, he's alright." Hasake breathed a sigh of relief, Duke taking the chance to sit down. "He had to serve a stint in prison, but he's alright other than that. I got him out and he works for me now. Brilliant scientist."

Hasake laughed. "It runs in the family…But, prison."

"Yes, he did everything he could to get you back, which is why he can't be here now. They're still watching him to make sure that he doesn't fall back into his supposedly criminal ways." Duke rolled his eyes before continuing. "He won't be able to return to Japan for, at most, three years."

"Three years…"

"Yes. But, three years in enough time for a vacation." Duke threw Hasake a wink, the man looking confused. "It might do you good to get out of here once you're recovered, to rest from the treatment that you got. I suggest Wales."

"Wales?"

"Beautiful country, a bit rainy but still beautiful. Head down to Cardiff, Ronald Dahl Plass to be exact and just find the water feature, can't miss it. You might get a very welcome surprise." Duke stood up and bowed to the scientist, smirking at the thoughtful look that crossed Hasake's face. "It was a pleasure, Mr. Fudo. I hope that I will have another chance to meet you on better terms. Good-bye."

He walked out of the room and slipped on his shoes, leaving before Hasake Fudo could gather his thoughts. Duke shouldered his backpack once he was outside, taking a deep breath before stepping out into the street and turning to head towards the airport. He would be missed if he stayed longer. Duke rolled his shoulders before beginning to walk quickly, glancing up at the sky as soft white shapes began to drift down, the man rolling his eyes before flipping the collar of his coat up higher. "Just great."

* * *

Yugi climbed up to the roof, sure that he would find the Pharaoh up there. Sometime during the celebrations, probably after they started watching subtitled Christmas classics from America, the Time Lord has disappeared; Yugi deciding to leave him alone for a bit. Regeneration, from what little grasp he had on the process, would seem to be difficult to get a handle on, especially if one was flung right back into the action without having a moment of peace. Hence, the reason the Pharaoh was on the roof, the one place that was close to the stars and far enough away from the rest of the world if things were getting too human.

He stepped out onto the roof, his mouth dropping open in shock as delicate white flakes drifted down. Yugi let out a laugh and turned in the soft fall of flakes, a smile on his face as he spread out his arms and let the flakes fall on him. He was about to open his mouth and catch one of the flakes on his tongue when a familiar voice piped up. "I wouldn't do that."

Yugi shut his mouth and turned to glare at the Pharaoh, surprised to see the Time Lord perched on the metal box on top of his apartment, staring out over the city. He considered his options for a moment before remaining where he was, not sure if that was quite enough of an invitation to warrant going over to the alien. "Why not?"

"Because it isn't snow, it's ash." The Pharaoh gestured up to the sky, Yugi freezing at the motion. "The debris from the spaceship falling back to earth, burning up in your atmosphere."

"Oh God."

"It's not that bad. Anything that you could get sick from or discern as part of them or their ship is gone. It's just ashes." Yugi looked up at the last three words, picking up the wistful tone of voice. He shook his head, dusting what ash had gathered there off before walking over to the Pharaoh, lifting himself up onto the metal box to sit beside the alien, the two of them watching the ash fall onto the city. The silence between them was nice, almost enough to make Yugi forget what had happened and imagine that it was the first Pharaoh who was sitting there next to him, but then he would look over and the silhouette would be wrong.

He coughed, clearing his throat and breaking the silence when it became too much for him. "So, where to next?"

"Next?" The Pharaoh turned to look at him, shock obvious on his face. "I thought because I had changed-"

"Well, I thought because you changed…" Yugi blushed, realizing that he had interrupted the Pharaoh. They both broke off into nervous laughter, Yugi playing with the ash that had gathered before nodding to himself. "I still want to go with you, if you will let me."

"I'd love it if you'd come." Yugi blushed deeper at the phrasing, his hand clenching over the pile of ash that he had been playing with as he tensed. He stared at the back of his hand, his heart pounding quickly. He didn't know why he was reacting this way, but was willing to hazard a guess that it was because of the phrasing, that one word; the one that he had never gotten the courage to say to the old Pharaoh. "That is, only if you want to come."

"Oh, I do. It's too wonderful to give up, but…" Yugi shifted, crossing his legs before turning to face the Pharaoh, the Time Lord slowly mirroring him. Yugi took a moment to stare at the Pharaoh, taking in the new face again, hoping that he could find something of the old Pharaoh, but there was nothing. He sighed and let his gaze drop back to the ash covered box, trying to figure out a way to stay what was on his mind. If it was never said, then it would just be lost, Yugi knew that much. "It's just that I…I loved you."

The Pharaoh stared at him for a moment before slumping. "Loved?"

"I'm not sure about you now, just because you're different and…and…And I'm making a mess of this." Yugi gave a nervous laugh and ran a hand through his hair.

"No. I understand." The Pharaoh gave a slow nod before looking at him. "But I can promise, underneath this, I'm the same man."

"You'll have to prove it to me." Yugi flinched. "Sorry. I'm just being a stupid human."

"No. I could kill myself for calling you that. You are brilliant Yugi." The Pharaoh smiled at him, leaning closer. "Seriously, you are brilliant."

"Yeah, well, sometimes I act like it." Yugi groaned, falling backwards on the metal box and staring up at the sky, heedless of the ash. "I just can't get over the fact that one minute you were him and then you were you. It makes sense, almost in my mind, but nowhere else. So, yeah, I loved you."

"And I'll just have to prove myself to you again?"

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize. I understand. We can still be friends though, right?"

Yugi propped himself up onto his elbows, looking at the Time Lord. The old Pharaoh would have never asked him that question. Actually, the old Pharaoh never would have explained any of this to him, he would have expected Yugi to just move on and make the best of it. The fact that the Pharaoh was doing this for him now made him smile. "You never would have asked me that before."

"I know. The regeneration helped in a way." Yugi tipped his head in a silent question, the Pharaoh sighing before looking up at the stars. "The Time War is still there, I still remember it and I'm still the soldier who fought and the one who ended it, but the memories aren't as sharp. I can start over. Before I was born of the Time War this me was born from-"

The Pharaoh looked at him, abruptly cutting himself off and staring off into the distance again. Yugi was tempted to ask what he was going to say, when the Pharaoh shook his head, seeming to come out of his daze. "So, you, me, the universe?"

"Yeah." The Pharaoh held out his hand, Yugi staring at it before laughing. "That one still creeps me out."

"It's just like the old one." The Time Lord took his hand, a warm tingle passing up Yugi's arm. He smiled to himself, turning his gaze up to the stars. His old Pharaoh wouldn't have done this, held his hand. In fact, he could get used to having his hand held by this man. He shook the thought away a moment later, a bit disturbed that it was heading off in _that_ direction. He and the Pharaoh were just friends, even if the friendship had been established on a strange mutual enjoyment of insulting each other and cemented by the nearly daily saving of each others lives, it was still just friendship. And, while he had begun to love the old Pharaoh, he had to get to know this one first. There was no reason to just go rushing forward just because he looked nice and those leather pants showed off his ass…

Yugi held back a groan, viciously reining his thoughts in and wondering when he had gotten this bad. He wanted to blame it on that nearly daily threat of death pushing his body to this state. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to relax for a few days. He smiled to himself, leaning back on one hand. "I think I might need to vacation at home for a bit. What do you think?"

"You just want to make sure I don't keel over suddenly."

"Very true." The thought had entered his mind but, more than that, he just wanted to get to know this Pharaoh more before they jumped off into the stars. He would have the change the way he worked now, their old manner of existing not valid anymore. And, while he mourned that loss, Yugi wasn't sure he wouldn't enjoy the new adventures any less. "Still, which way will we head out from here?"

The Pharaoh stared up at the sky for a moment, Yugi trying to follow his gaze as the Pharaoh looked at all the stars. The Time Lord took his time, finally nodding to himself and raising his hand to point. "That way. No wait," he adjusted a few inches, "that way."

"That way?" Yugi raised an eyebrow. "What's that way specifically?"

"Oh many things. You'll just have to wait to find out." The Pharaoh winked at him, Yugi not sure how to take that. He decided to ignore it for now, leaning back on one hand again, refusing to let go of the Pharaoh's hand. Thankfully, the Time Lord seemed equally as reluctant to let go. Yugi took a deep breath of the night air, tipping his head back to stare at the stars again and feeling the Time Lord shift next to him, a smile crossing his face.

 __

* * *

 _Please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome._


	6. New Earth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Chapter Five: New Earth**

**Chapter Five: New Earth**

" _So where we going?_ _  
_ _Further than we've ever gone before!_ _"_

 _-Rose Tyler and the Doctor_

Yugi bounded down the stairs, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder as he laughed, Joey lagging behind a step so as not to be hit by the swinging bag. The two crossed the lot behind the apartments, Yugi speeding up to a run as he saw the Pharaoh leaning against the TARDIS, the Time Lord smiling at him before nodding at Joey, raising a hand in a quick greeting. Yugi set his bag on the ground, turning around to give Joey a quick hug. "See you around then."

"Yeah. And you take care of him." The Pharaoh held up his hands in a sign of surrender, Yugi turning back around to wave at where Junri stood at the balcony, clutching her robe tightly around her. He smiled before turning back to Joey, the blonde looking at his watch and letting out a quiet curse. "I've got to get to work. Sorry we couldn't give you a better send off."

"I'll just demand to be taken back to repeat it until you two get it right." Yugi laughed, picking up his back again as the Pharaoh opened the door. "Maybe one day I'll convince you guys to come along to. And no arguments from you, Pharaoh."

They both laughed at the shocked look on the Pharaoh's face, Yugi giving Joey a last good-bye wave before bounding up the ramp, reaching out to stroke the TARDIS before pausing at the doorway to the corridor. "I'm putting my stuff in my room."

The Pharaoh waved him off, Yugi taking the familiar path to his room, glad that the TARDIS wasn't inclined to move it around as it did the other rooms. He thought he had glimpsed a swimming pool in here once, promising that on one of their down days he would find the pool; it had been a while since he had gone for a swim.

He hummed to himself, opening the door to his room before throwing the duffle bag on his bed, lunging forward to prevent the Kuriboh plushie from falling off. He settled it between the Blue-Eyes and Dark Magician plushies before walking back to the console room, yelping and grabbing onto the nearest strut as the Pharaoh urged the TARDIS into motion. The Time Lord's movement around the console was so familiar, exactly like it had been before, when the Pharaoh was blue-eyed and cold instead of red-eyed and open.

It was strange, these little instances; Yugi had been seeing them more and more since their little vacation on Earth. There was some of his old Pharaoh, although Yugi assumed that he should say that they both had the same behavior, in the way that they walked around outside, like they owned the whole planet. They also talked to the TARDIS the same way, sometimes directing comments to the ship and the way that they worked around the TARDIS. The little instances hurt as much as they helped heal them, Yugi still expecting his old Pharaoh to appear and laugh at Yugi's stupidity, but he had resigned himself to the fact that it would never happen.

But resign was not the right word either. He enjoyed the company of the Pharaoh still, eventually having got the Time Lord to admit that he had tried to coax the regeneration into something that Yugi would like, Yugi not sure how to take that statement. It sounded like a lot more than the friendship that the Pharaoh had stuck to, despite the retrospective thought that the old Pharaoh liked him. Yugi wasn't sure if he was right or even if those kinds of feelings could carry over and he didn't think about it much, it just got too confusing. It was better for the both of them if he just thought about this Pharaoh, the one who existed now instead of focusing on the past.

Yugi fought his way up to the console, moving against the rock of the TARDIS. He finally grabbed onto the edge, edging towards the Pharaoh, smiling at his travelling companion. "Where are we going?"

"Future." The Pharaoh grunted as he pulled down a lever, the instrument getting stuck halfway through the motion before finally giving. "Thought it would be nice."

"Anywhere with you is nice." Yugi hesitantly bumped his shoulder against the Pharaoh, waiting for a reaction. Instead of the usual cold glare that he would have gotten, the Pharaoh just smiled and returned the gesture, the two of them laughing. "Oh, I can see that this will be fun."

"Really? Can you see us not running for our lives?" The TARDIS came to a hard stop, Yugi hanging on for dear life until the shakes had stopped.

He looked up at the Pharaoh, watching as the man slung on his black coat before shaking his head. "Honestly, no."

The two stepped out of the TARDIS, Yugi ducking his head as something flew over, his mouth opening in shock as the flying car sped over him, joining the stream of others that were heading towards the city. He smiled and walked away from the TARDIS, looking out over the calm blue water towards the city, watching the brightly colored cars zoom towards it. He looked sideways at the bridge that connected the strip of land that they were on to the city, smiling and looking around, taking in the blue sky and green grass, hesitating at the strange smell that seemed to be everywhere. "What is that?"

"Apple grass." Yugi turned around to stare at the Pharaoh, the Pharaoh meeting his stare before clearing his throat, looking out towards the city in the distance. "It's the year five billion and twenty-three."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously." The Pharaoh walked forward, gently grabbing a hold of his shoulders and turning him to face the city. "You are on the plant New Earth and that is New New York."

"What?"

"You see," the Pharaoh rested his chin on the top of Yugi's head, Yugi standing still and allowing the Time Lord to do as he pleased, "the sun expanded and the Earth was burnt to a crisp."

"I remember that." Yugi thought he imagined the slight tightening of the Pharaoh's hands on his shoulders, the instant too brief for him to really consider what it was.

"Well, after that the humans went looking for a new home and they found this place, matched the Earth perfectly. So they settled down and built this."

"They seem to lack creativity."

"Perhaps." The Pharaoh pulled away with a laugh, turning so his coat billowed out behind him, Yugi smiling at the image before looking at the white building that loomed down the cliff from them, a green crescent moon within a circle on the side. Yugi tipped his head, looking at the Pharaoh, watching as the Time Lord fished the familiar leather wallet from his coat, frowning as he stared at it before passing it to Yugi. "And now someone wants to see us."

The message 'Ward 26' flashed across the psychic paper, Yugi nervously playing with the wallet in his hands before passing it back to the Pharaoh, cautiously moving forward as the Pharaoh continued to stare at the building. After a moment, the Time Lord sighed and jerked his head toward the building. "Ready to go visit a hospital?"

"That's a hospital?"

"Moon in a circle, universal sign for hospitals in this time." The Pharaoh glanced at Yugi before shoving his hands into his pockets, Yugi glancing at him before hurrying to catch up, staying well away from the drop off into the water. "And apparently we're needed."

* * *

The short man shifted from one side to the other, manipulating the video feed that he was receiving, quickly saving it before the remote camera went down, the spider-like creature finally running low on power and collapsing where it had stood; hidden in the shadow of the TARDIS. The man reached up a tattooed hand to secure his hat, returning to his work, magnifying the images that he had gotten in the hopes that something would turn up for this, aware that his mistress was dozing. That had been their last working camera device. But at least he had managed to steer this one into some sort of safe spot. He would go out tonight to retrieve it and do what little repairs he could to get it up and running again, although he doubted that it would help, that one had been patched up more times than he could count.

He shuffled away from the display, taking stock of what mechanical devices that they had, heart sinking as he realized that he would have to sneak out later to stock up, something that he didn't want to do. It was dangerous to leave his mistress alone for too long, there was no telling what would happen to him and there was not another to hold his place until he returned. The man shook his head, shuffling back towards the display, still playing with the video feed. Another servant couldn't be created in the limited amount of time that they had until it got dark, so they were going to have to live blind for a while; he would only risk the time it took to sneak out and retrieve their last camera device, just so he would have a blue print.

"Chip?" The sleepy call made him turn, a joyful smile coming to his face as his mistress opened her blue eyes. He gave her a minute, as he always did, watching her settle and realize where they were, taking in the concrete walls of the basement that they were hiding in. It always hurt to watch her remember what had happened, but it took her no longer than a minute to perk up again, taking a deep breath before focusing on him. "Moisturize me."

"Yes, mistress." He bowed before going to get the small spray bottle, checking the amount of pink liquid that was left in there. It was enough, more than enough to last through the day, but enough to have him worrying. They were running low on supplies; it had been a while since he had last had to go out and forage, the fear of leaving his mistress behind growing. This time of year she dried out so easily. He finished his task of spraying her with the solution before bowing. "I must go out tonight to find more medicine for you, mistress, and retrieve the spider."

"What happened to it?"

"I had it scouting out some new arrivals, mistress." Chip set the sprayer down, returning to the display and fiddling with it some more. "I can't quite get a perfect clear picture, but it is enough to recognize them by. And they came to this planet but such a strange way."

"Bring the picture up, Chip." Her impatient tone of voice was enough for Chip, the small man working quickly to bring the image up, smiling when it didn't dissolve completely into pixels. He gave a bow to his mistress, playing the footage and waiting for his next orders. He hoped to be busy these last few hours before sunset; his morning spent hurrying the spider around to check on the hospital and the surrounding area. No one could know that they were here; it would be too dangerous for his mistress.

He looked up at her gasp of surprise, about to make a lunge for the sprayer when his mistress hissed, the sound making her rattle in her frame. "It can't be."

"That is our best spider camera, mistress."

"Yugi Mutou. I'd know that multi-colored assassin anywhere." Chip perked up a bit at the title, wondering why this young man had to do with his mistress, but held his tongue. He would be told more if his mistress decided he needed to know; it had always been this way when them. He went back to his bow, listening to his mistress as she continued to talk, more to herself than to him. "Oh, but this is beyond coincidence. I want him brought down here, as soon as you can. And prepare the psycograft."

"Yes, mistress." Chip stood up from his bow, turning back to the display and putting the video away. He then focused his efforts on the system that ran the hospital, practice making hacking into the system easy. Chip found his way into the main control network, ready to turn anything away from its original destination while watching for this Yugi Mutou to appear on the security footage. As soon he did, Yugi Mutou would be transported down to meet his mistress, as he had been ordered. And his mistress would want for nothing while he was around.

He settled down to wait, glancing to be sure that the sprayer was close so he wouldn't have to dash across the room for it. While he always tried to fulfill his mistress' whims, her safety and health came first.

* * *

Yugi looked up at the tall ceiling as they entered the building, marveling at it. He felt the Pharaoh take a hold of his sleeve, pulling him to one side to avoid a group that was walking by. He smiled sheepishly before going back to looking around in awe, astounded by the pristine whiteness that was the hospital. His attention was briefly distracted by the circular sitting area by the elevators, Yugi turning his head to follow one of the people in completely white, the outfit reminding him of a nun. He stopped in his tracks as the person turned to face him, revealing her feline features that were hidden beneath the cowl.

He managed to swallow down his yelp, taking a step backwards right into the Pharaoh. The Time Lord caught him, giving him a questioning look before releasing him and continuing to walk. Yugi looked after the nun before rushing to catch up to him. "They're cats!"

"Yes. And you're human."

"But they're cats!" He was grinning now, walking quickly to catch up to the Pharaoh. "Cat nuns in a hospital." Yugi paused to look up towards the skylight, tipping his head back until his neck protested for a glimpse at the ceiling of the building. "This is amazing."

"Ward 26." He looked back up as the Pharaoh spoke, yelping and rushing for the elevator. The Time Lord seemed to realize then that Yugi wasn't with him, turning around and waving him onward. "Come on, Yugi."

"Hold on, I'm coming." Yugi reached the elevator just as the doors shut, slumping with a huff before shouting through them. "I'll meet you up there."

There was a muffled reply, Yugi standing still for a moment, trying to work out what the Pharaoh had said before shrugging and walking into the next elevator, spending a quick moment looking at the display at the back before address the ceiling. "Ward 26."

He turned back around, wandering around the edges of the elevator before coming back to center, missing that the arrow pointed down as they began to move, Yugi glancing at the doors before sighing having a moment to relax when he was sprayed with cold water. He yelped, jumping forward before calming himself down. It was only just a little water, Yugi remaining relaxed until the mechanical voice spoke. "Stage one disinfection initiated."

"Great." Yugi slumped, pushing his bangs out of his face as the water turned off and the dryer turned on, shaking his head to get rid of some of the excess water, while glaring at the doors. He was pulled out of his gloom as a puff of powder was sent into the elevator, coughing a bit before brushing the stuff off of his shirt, glancing at the elevator doors as they opened.

Yugi walked out into the hallway, slowing his confident stride as he realized something was off. For one, he would assume Ward 26 would be upstairs instead of the basement. And two, the corridor was creepy. Yugi frowned, turning as he saw someone walk out of the shadows, the person appearing to be slightly shorter than he was. Yugi blinked, taking a step forward to try and get a better look at the man, freezing when he heard the man speak. "This way Yugi Mutou."

He forced a nod, waiting until the man had disappeared before leaning down to pick up a piece of piping that was lying on the floor. He doubted that he could bring himself to use it, but it was the fact that he had it that counted; anyone who wanted to do anything would think twice, which would give him time to run. Any way he looked at it, this man meant no good. He hadn't even told him where he was going or his name. Yugi narrowed his eyes and carefully followed after the man, taking great care to hold the hand with the pipe slightly behind him.

Yugi pushed his way through some sheets of dangling plastic, pausing after he realized that he had lost his guide. He looked around for a moment, contemplating going back to the elevator when he heard the sound of people speaking. Yugi hesitated, common sense telling him to go back and find the Pharaoh; between the two of them they could figure this out. But the fact that there might be people down here drew him onward, his own curiosity overriding his common sense.

Carefully, he moved into the room, staying close to the wall in case something tried to jump out at him. When nothing did, he edged forward, looking around the corner and staring at the projection on the wall there. He watched the images from the fancy party, most of them centering around a blonde woman, the woman usually surrounded by men. He took another cautious step into the room, watching the woman flirt, tensing when he heard someone sigh from behind him. "That was the night I had cocktails with the ambassador of Thrace."

Yugi spun around, staring at the thing behind him before pointing with the hand that held the pipe. "You!"

"Hello." Cassandra O'Brian Dot Delta Seventeen smiled back at him, the piece of skin rattling slightly in its frame. "I was wondering when I would see you again, assassin."

Yugi tensed at that, backing away as he noticed another man in the room. Cassandra just laughed, looking at the man, the same one that had spoken to Yugi in the hallway. "Oh, that's just Chip, just a force-grown clone but very loyal. He sees to my physical needs."

He felt the need to gag at that, noticing the glare shot his way by Chip, the clone inching up to Cassandra's frame, standing almost protectively in front of the piece of skin. "I worship the mistress, moisturize her, stroke her…"

"Oh God." Yugi turned away, leaning on the wall, shaking his head as his stomach rebelled against the words. He managed to get control over his stomach again, pushing away from the wall and staring at Cassandra in disgust. "You were torn apart the last time we saw each other. How did you get here?"

"Another piece of skin, anything for thinness." Cassandra fluttered her eyelashes before pouting. "But then the creditors came knocking along with those who wanted to lock me away, so I've hidden here. But the things I've heard." Cassandra looked at him, Yugi standing up straight to stare at her. "Come closer and I'll tell you what those cats are whispering."

Yugi shook his head, taking a step back. "No way. I am not getting any closer to-Hey!"

Blue bars snapped down around him, the electricity that made up the bars making him drop the pipe with a yelp. Yugi cradled his hand, gently rubbing it before glaring back at Cassandra, watching as Chip smirked back at him, ignoring the little clone to glare at Cassandra. "You won't get any money from me."

"Who said I wanted money?" Yugi felt a cold chill run down his spine, taking a step back only for his hands to be forced outward. He struggled against the sudden hold, crying out as electricity coursed through him, slumping forward and panting as he stared at the floor. He swallowed shakily before looking back up at Cassandra, his come back dying as he stared at her. "Well, that's not true. I do want money. But this is just a way to get it. But for now, it's good-bye trampoline and hello spiky."

Yugi had only a moment to realize what she had said before he saw a purplish-pink mist move from Cassandra, approaching him. He pulled back, backing away as far as his restraints would allow him and staring fearfully at the mist. He didn't know what it was, or what it would do to him, part of him ready to shout for the Pharaoh, remembering at the last minute that the Time Lord wasn't there. The Pharaoh was probably up at Ward 26 waiting for him. And Yugi, like the idiot he was, had wandered off, and now he was without help in the face of this attack.

He tried to jerk away from his restraints, looking up at the mist before holding his breath, hoping that, if he didn't breathe it in, then whatever would be coming his way would be thwarted. Yugi stared at the mist for a moment, his eyes widening and his breath whooshing out as it drifted up and lunged forward towards his forehead, the shock of the move making him jerk back against the restraints, a soft keen escaping him before he fell to the ground, his head hitting the cement.

He didn't know if he was conscious or not, but he didn't care, there was something inside of his head, something moving around and prodding. And he could do nothing about it. Yugi tried to push the presence back, flinching at Cassandra's laugh as she continued to push him away. He screamed as he was finally corralled in a small corner, frantically lashing out at the other presence in his mind in an attempt to free himself.

For a moment, there was a flash of gold, Yugi feeling a sense of familiarity before he latched on to the golden spark, almost laughing as Cassandra began to lose ground. Yugi slowly pushed back into control, fighting Cassandra the entire way. He was about to pull himself back into control when he heard a voice shout his name. It was the voice that stopped him, Yugi gasping at the sound of his old Pharaoh's voice, the realization nearly driving him to tears. "Yugi!"

He lost the ground that he had gained, letting go of the spark of gold and falling back. Cassandra was on him in a second, shoving his conscious back into a far corner of his mind, and Yugi just let himself go. He kept his consciousness, spending a mere second on whether that was good or bad before just allowing himself to be, because it still hurt.

After all of this time, it still hurt to remember that the first Pharaoh was gone, and he could never come back.

* * *

Cassandra groaned, speaking without thinking as she stirred from her place on the ground. "Moisturize me."

There was a squeak before Chip shuffled off, Cassandra opening her eyes to look around the room, her gaze immediately falling to her hands. Well, Yugi's hands, but they were hers now. The little human was locked up inside a corner of his own head, leaving her to steer his body. She gave a quickly laugh at that, standing up with a smile on her face. She had forgotten how wonderful it felt to have your own body. Sure, it wasn't as thin or beautiful as she was, but it was a wonder all the same.

She let out a squeal, nearly jumping up and down as she examined the body that that she had stolen. "Oh, hands, hair! Let me see!" Cassandra rushed back the surprised Chip to the mirror on the other side of the room, her mouth dropping open in shock. She had always thought Yugi looked a little strange before but, now, knowing that she was on the other end of those purple eyes… "Oh my God, I look hideous!"

Cassandra ran her fingers through her hair, hissing in distaste at the spikes and odd colors before shaking her head and looking down at her clothes. At least Yugi's taste wasn't a total disaster. Whether by chance or conscious thought he had worn tight jeans that showed off his legs nicely. But that was the only thing. She plucked at the blue jacket that he was wearing before shaking her head, deciding that she would just have to make do. She couldn't be too picky with what she got.

"Oh," she turned around as Chip let out a sad sigh, "my old mistress is dead. Her brain has expired."

"There, there Chip." Cassandra sauntered over to Chip, not caring if the action was distinctly feminine. "She's tucked safely away up here."

Cassandra tapped the side of her head, pausing as she reached back and began riffling through Yugi's memories. Where Yugi was, the Pharaoh couldn't be far behind. If she could find them, then she might find a welcome ally, or an enemy to be avoided. Either was, she couldn't stay away from the Pharaoh for too long or else he'd come looking for his precious pet human. Still, she was sure that she could pull off a good enough Yugi impression to keep the Pharaoh at bay; long enough, at least, for her to get what she wanted out of these cats.

She jumped as Chip spoke again, nearly losing track of where she was in Yugi's surface memories. "But what of the human?"

"Oh, he's tucked away. Probably sitting and watching us…" Cassandra trailed off as she reached a recent memory, gasping as she stared straight ahead, trying to come to terms with this new development. "That man's he's with, it's the Pharaoh. The same Pharaoh with a new face!" She tipped her head to the side for a moment before turning back to the mirror. "I must get the name of his plastic surgeon."

"What do we do now, mistress?"

"We continue with the plan. We don't want the Pharaoh snooping around down here, do we?" Cassandra turned back to glare at Chip before looking back in the mirror, flinching at her reflection. Of all the times she had to do a quick job and with nothing. She sighed, reaching up to draw a bang across her face, tipping her head to side to side before letting the bang go, stripping off the coat and throwing it to the floor. "From what I can tell from the surface memories, our little Yugi here harbored a crush on the Pharaoh and, neither of them are sure of where they stand. Let's go sow some seeds of romance, shall we?"

"Mistress?"

She waved Chip off. "Just try and follow me, Chip. If there is one truth in this whole universe, it's that a distracted man is one who misses the obvious and is easily misled. And, if there is one thing I know how to do, it's to distract a man. Now, let's see what I can do here?" She tsked and shook her head. "Oh, Yugi honey, what are you doing to yourself? How can you ever win a man like this?"

Cassandra turned in front of the mirror before shrugging, reaching up to unbutton the first few buttons on Yugi's shirt, glancing at her refection before sighing. "Oh, it's nearly no use. I'll just have to use charm mostly. Chip, the perfume please."

She held out her hand, taking the small vial that Chip held out to her, tucking it into the pocket of her jeans, staring at her reflection one last time before smiling. This was exciting. Cassandra winked at her reflection before blowing it a kiss, nearly skipping out behind Chip as they walked back to the elevators. She moved quickly ahead of Chip, standing at the elevator and tipping her head to the side. "Do they still do the whole disinfectant thing?"

"Yes, mistress."

"Good." She turned around, smiling at Chip. "Now, you stay here and be ready to come for me. As soon as I find what they are hiding, I'll call." She walked over, fixing the clone's collar and hat. "Be good and don't throw any parties while I'm gone."

The elevator opened up, Cassandra skipping into the box, giving Chip a final wave as the doors closed. She looked up at the ceiling, giving her destination before settling into place, a plan already in motion. If she could find out what these nurses were hiding, then she could blackmail them into giving her enough money to settle her debts and get off the planet. She would just dump Yugi as soon as she found someone more attractive to inhabit. For the sake of her own existence, she could stand a few years of being ugly and three dimensional. Besides, this was fun.

She yelped as the cold disinfectant was sprayed over her, glancing over at a section of metal that she could see her reflection in. Cassandra paused for a moment before gently ruffling her hair, watching as the spikes were mussed up a bit. A smile crossed her face, as she looked at her reflection. It wasn't enough to be considered horribly messy, but just enough to be attractive. Cassandra hummed to herself, glancing down at her hands as the dryer started. She stood in the stream of air for a moment before stepping forward and out of its area of influence. The still damp shirt now clung to her borrowed body, Cassandra smoothing the wrinkles before nodding, allowing herself to be hit with the powder before stepping out of the elevator and into the hallway. She checked that the perfume was still in her pocket as that she still looked good before turning and walking towards Ward 26, unable to help the smile on her face.

It had been a while since she had seduced a man and this new Pharaoh looked absolutely delicious.

* * *

The Pharaoh stepped out of the elevator, shaking his head to rid his hair of the last of the powder, glancing at the elevator doors beside his, staring at them for a moment before shrugging and walking on. He had to remind himself that Yugi could take care of himself, the human had proven that more than enough times already. Yugi had been smothered by his old life; there was no excuse for the Pharaoh to do it here. Reluctantly, he moved away from the elevators, forcing himself to look interested as one of the cat nurses came over to him, tipping her head in a respective manner. "Welcome to New Earth and may the goddess of plentitude look kindly on you. I am Matron Casp."

"The Pharaoh." He gave a short nod of his own, glancing around before looking back at Casp. "I'm looking for Ward 26."

"Certainly." She bowed before walking further down the hallway, the Pharaoh sparing a look back at the elevators and sighing when Yugi still hadn't appeared. He mentally scolded himself for worrying before following after the cat, glancing at the rooms as they walked, his amazement growing. The Pharaoh stared openly at the people who were laid out on the hospital beds, mentally listing the diseases that were there, over half of them previously incurable. He looked back at his guide as she cleared her throat. "Impressed?"

"Half of these diseases don't have cures." The Pharaoh prevented himself from adding the yet at the end of that sentence, frowning as Casp merely purred.

"You should not doubt the power of prayer. But the Sisters of Plentitude have always had a knack for healing the sick; it is why we have hospitals stationed all over this galaxy." She gave him a smile before walking into a room, glancing around before gesturing. "Ward 26. And you are visiting?"

"I'll know when I've seen them." The Pharaoh pushed past Casp, ignoring her huff of disapproval, but he was too focused on the people in the room, displaying a wide range of diseases; Paxx-Sinopli Syrdome, Spectrox toxaemia, Paladone Pancrossis, the list went on and on. His eyes widened as he stared at an obese man with a case of Petrifold Regression, turning his gaze away as the man's wife shot him a glare. He cleared his throat, the sound gaining the attention of Casp, cat nearly purring again at his evident shock.

"Do not look so surprised, Pharaoh. As I told you, we are very good with the sick."

"Yeah but," he pointed to the girl laid out on a bed, "she's got Paladone Pancrossis. She should be dead by now. She should have been dead ten minutes after she got it."

"That cure was one of the easier ones." Casp laughed. "Please, Pharaoh, just accept this for the miracle it is. We are doing a service for the people of New Earth, are we not? We do not plan to use these discoveries for evil and jealously guard them for that purpose. Our way is to heal the sick and, in doing so, heal the hurt of the galaxy. Is that really too much to ask?"

The Pharaoh stared at her for a moment before turning away, staring out at the city through the large window at the end of the room. She had gotten him there. He had met the Sisters of Plenitude before, and they had made bunnies look evil. Without a doubt they would be doing nothing wrong, but that is what disturbed him. If they had been doing their best to help the patients in their last hours, he would have been more accepting of Casp's words. But the fact that had the cures for all of these diseases still put him on guard. No matter how well guarded things were, they still managed to get stolen.

His TARDIS was one example of that.

He had to withhold a smile at that memory, coming back to himself as Casp shifted beside him, folding her hands in an almost prayer-like stance. "Now, it is strange to come into a hospital and not know who you are visiting."

The Pharaoh's gaze dropped to a patient almost tucked away into a corner, staring at the familiar jar before nodding. "I do know. He's over there."

He walked away before Casp could react, passing the last two beds before staring at the familiar face floating in the jar, barely glancing at the cat nurse who stood up and bowed to him. He glanced her way before looking over the Face of Boe, glancing over at a rack of IV solutions, noticing that none of them were in use. He glanced back at the Face of Boe, trying to see what was wrong with him before finally forcing himself to look at the young nurse tending him. Matron Casp seemed to have been waiting for him because she motioned to the young nurse with a smile. "This is Novice Hame. She has been tending the Face of Boe since he arrived here."

"It has been an honor." Hame gave a little curtsy, her expression sad as she gazed at the Face of Boe. "I have done my best, but he is still dying. There is nothing I can do, I'm afraid, it's his age."

The Pharaoh swallowed before nodding, discretely resting a hand on the jar, feeling a faint vibration in his mind, almost like humming. He tried to ignore the sound, knowing that he would hear it whether or not he was touching the jar, just listening to Hame continue her apology, not really comprehending the words. His attention was grabbed when a third cat walked over, taking Casp gently by the elbow and pulling her away from the small group, the Pharaoh catching their whispered conversation. Apparently, they were not worried too much about people overhearing.

"They're showing sentience again."

"I don't understand it."

"Sister Kell has written an interesting essay on the subject, well worth a read."

"I see. Still, there is nothing for it, it cannot be tolerated."

"The usual then."

Casp hesitated for a moment before nodding slowly, the Pharaoh looking away as she glanced over at him. "The usual, and may the goddess forgive us."

The Time Lord glanced their way again as the two nurses walked out, turning his attention back to Novice Hame as she sat down in her chair, adjusting the knobs that allowed smoke into the jar where the Face of Boe rested, sighing as she did so. "It's not a bad job, I suppose, but it's sad. He mostly just sings of planets and people that he had known, a sad business indeed." She reached down for a cup of water, pausing with it part way to her lips, staring into the distance for a while before taking a slow sip, glancing towards the Pharaoh before blushing. "I'm sure you have heard of the legends."

"Legends?" She stared at him in surprise before looking away, staring at the floor. The Pharaoh turned to look at her, watching as she struggled to overcome her sudden shyness to speak.

"They say that the Face of Boe knows a great secret and he will speak of it only to a traveler like himself, one without a home, and on the day of his death. It's supposedly the accumulated knowledge of the universe, but there are hundreds of other myths."

Novice Hame went back to her work, the Pharaoh staring at the nearest wall in shock. He had never heard of those legends before and, while he still doubted that they were completely true, he had to at least partially believe that it could happen; he had been around too long to just doubt everything on principle. The Pharaoh shook his head, standing up straight and glancing at the Face of Boe. They had only met once before and it was in passing on Platform One, the first place he had taken Yugi. He didn't even remember speaking to the Face of Boe, just seeing him there, just hearing his name banded about. Apparently, he moved in the upper circles of the universe, something that the Pharaoh avoided. But that still left the matter of the legends.

There was no doubt in his mind that the legends meant him, there was no other creature in the universe that could fit that description, and it scared him. For all his posturing, he didn't want to be given knowledge of the entire universe; it would just be another weight to carry. He didn't think that he could handle something else like that. It was only thanks to Yugi that he was sane enough to still walk around the universe it was a wonder that he hadn't ended up like his childhood friend. Although, it wasn't too far a drop from where he was. The Pharaoh shivered before turning away, distracted as he watched someone walk into the room. It took him a few seconds to recognize the person a smile crossing his face as he walked over to his companion.

Without really looking at Yugi, he grabbed the human's shoulder, sparing a moment to wonder why his shirt was still damp before pushing him out of the ward, glancing to the side before letting Yugi go, his gaze moving back to the patients in the ward. "Something is going on here, something that I don't like." The Pharaoh rubbed his forehead, deciding to forget about the Face of Boe for the moment, there were other more important things. "We have to get to a terminal and check things-What happened to you?"

He stared at his companion, taking in the tight jeans and the shirt that clung to Yugi's body, the undone buttons at the top allowing him a tantalizing glimpse of pale skin. The Pharaoh swallowed and looked up at Yugi's face, his hearts beating faster at the blatantly seductive look on Yugi's face. The Pharaoh tried to focus again, watching as Yugi rocked back onto his heels with his head tilted towards the ceiling, seeming to think for a moment before talking.

"The elevator had a bit of trouble. Instead of moving up I found myself _going down_." The Pharaoh was sure that he imagined the emphasis that was placed on those words, but cursed the fact that he was even thinking like this. He had promised Yugi that they would get to know each other better and he didn't have high hopes on Yugi falling back in love with him. With all their talks during their mini-vacation, the Pharaoh had figured out that Yugi had basically given his heart to the old, Time War scarred version of him, something that the Pharaoh envied.

He swallowed nervously and took a step back, watching as Yugi pivoted with him. The Pharaoh forced himself to look Yugi in the eyes, trying to stand his ground and speak. "Are you alright?"

"Me?" Yugi looked confused for a moment before nodding. "Yeah. Just annoyed that the dryer didn't work quite well. Other than that, I'm quite excited, being on New Earth, with you."

The Pharaoh shivered as Yugi licked his lips, breathing quickly as Yugi gave him a slow and searching look. The Time Lord managed to stand his ground for a moment more before he took a step back, putting distance between them. At the rate this was going, he wasn't going to be able to hold himself to that deal of friendship. The Pharaoh gave a nervous laugh to cover up his groan as Yugi started walking after him, trying to look anywhere but his companion. "Uh…"

"Pharaoh." He winced as he hit a wall, pressing himself against it as he looked at Yugi, his eyes going wide as Yugi raised a hand to rest on his cheek. The Pharaoh only had a moment to comprehend the move before Yugi pulled him into a kiss, his other arm wrapping around the Time Lord's waist and pulling him closer.

The Pharaoh yelped into the kiss, silenced as Yugi moved his hand to the back of the Pharaoh's neck, pulling him into a deeper kiss. Yugi's tongue soon slipped into his mouth, the Pharaoh's eyes widening at the move. His hesitation gave his companion the time to kiss him senseless, the Pharaoh moaning and allowing Yugi to take complete control of the kiss, wrapping his arms around his companion.

He cursed the need for air when Yugi pulled away, pacified by the soft kisses that Yugi laid on his mouth before smirking breathlessly, lowering his head to place a kiss on the Pharaoh's jaw. "Mm, you've been hiding things from me."

"Yugi…"

His companion pulled away from him, looking reluctant to move. Yugi stared at him for a moment, his eyes dark with lust before he shook his head, Yugi pointing in the direction they had been originally going. "T-terminal is this way."

The Pharaoh just nodded dumbly as Yugi moved away, aware that he was leaning up against the wall so that he wouldn't fall over. He took a deep breath, pressing his head back against the wall and shutting his eyes. He honestly didn't know how to take that and, although he was still suspicious, he found himself wanting another chance to kiss his companion. He sighed and opened his eyes, pushing away from the wall and wandering down towards the computer terminal, watching as Yugi examined the screen. Yugi looked back at him and gave him a flirtatious smile before point at the screen. "This is strange, I've tried to see the patient's list, but I can't."

The Time Lord stared at his companion, watching Yugi work the computer screen and access menus without fumbling around. He blinked and leaned against the wall, checking the model of the computer before scowling. There was nothing like this in Yugi's time, and even the people in this time complained about how hard it was to use. Yugi should have been completely lost. The Pharaoh cleared his throat, raising an eyebrow to ask what Yugi was doing, stopping when his companion stared at him for a moment before smiling. "Of course, I just have to go in from this way…"

Yugi trailed off, mumbling to himself as he flew through the menus on the computer, the Pharaoh watching him with awe. He was about to speak again when something in the wall beside them clicked, the Pharaoh glancing at the computer screen before looking at the wall as it moved to one side. He stepped around Yugi, barely glancing at the screen on the terminal before staring at the dark passage that had opened for them. Automatically, his hand slipped into his pocket to find his sonic screwdriver, his fingers brushing over the coral and metal device as he walked towards the passage. To his surprise, Yugi edged up beside him and smiled. "Let's go see what this is then."

 __

* * *

 _Please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome._


	7. The Doctor Is In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Chapter Six: The Doctor Is In**

**Chapter Six: The Doctor Is In**

" _It's said he'll talk to a wanderer, to the man without a home._ _The lonely god._ _"_

-Novice Hame

The Pharaoh tightened his grip on the screwdriver, pulling it out of his pocket and walking into the passage, the initial part of the passage dimly light until they reached the stairs, the green light used below throwing strange shadows on the walls. The Time Lord watched as Yugi walked down the stairs, his suspicions growing as the human didn't stop to look back at him, disappearing around a bend. He knew that Yugi had the tendency to wander off, but he also had the common sense to stay close when he needed to. The Pharaoh eased his way down the stairs, turning the corner to see Yugi staring at the green pods that were against the wall.

He acted before his companion could even speak, walking to the first pod and pointing the screwdriver at the door mechanism. There was a faint whirr as the mechanism opened, the Pharaoh pulling back the green tinted door and staring at the thing the pod contained, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the girl inside the pod.

She was held to two railings with clamps, tubes connected to her and running all through the pod. But the worst part was her skin, covered with burns, rashes, boils and blisters, some of them oozing puss. The Pharaoh heard Yugi gag, shaking his head before shutting the door, quickly walking to the next pod and pulling it open, only to get the same result. He slammed the door shut, backing away until he hit the railing, reaching back to grip it with one hand, trembling in anger.

"Were those patients?" The Pharaoh glanced over at his companion before shaking his head, trying to calm his shaking down. He had to keep from lashing out at Yugi, because it wasn't Yugi's fault that all of this was happening. He glanced up towards the ceiling, suddenly realizing what those nurses had been talking about before. "Then why are they down here?"

He sighed, finally calming himself down and turning around, nearly losing his calm as he stared at the rows of green pods, all of them probably holding one of those people. The Pharaoh glared down at the pods as he spoke. "They're how the nurses are getting the cures. Those people are born and bred to be sick."

"Then why don't they just die?"

The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow at the callous tone. "Plague carriers always die last."

"It's for the greater good." Yugi started by his side, spinning around. The Pharaoh only smirked, glancing back over his shoulder at Novice Hame.

"How do you know that?"

"There are people out there who are alive and happy because of these people." Hame glanced down. "And they're not even proper people, so what does it matter?"

"It matters." The Pharaoh turned slowly, Novice Hame backing up as he advanced. The Pharaoh was peripherally aware that Yugi was following him, sickened by his companion's obvious disinterest with this problem. He glanced over at Yugi once before focusing on Hame again. "Is this what you took your vows to do?"

"You don't understand!" The young cat nurse was on the verge of tears. "We tried everything from meat to bio-cattle. This was the only thing that produced results. We just want to keep people from dying!"

"This isn't worth it!" The Pharaoh forced himself to take a step back as Hame trembled, shaking his head before calming himself down. "I can understand the secrecy and I can understand your vows, but what I can't understand is what you have done to Yugi."

Hame looked up confused, anxiously playing with her hands before shaking her head. "We've done nothing to him."

"Listen to her, Pharaoh. I'm fine."

The Pharaoh shook off the hands that Yugi placed on his shoulders, hating himself. "Yugi would care about these people. They're dying and he wouldn't just stand by." He stared at his companion for a moment before lowering his gaze. "Yugi wouldn't have kissed me."

His companion rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Oh, alright, you caught me you sly, handsome dog." The Pharaoh stared at the human as Yugi sauntered up to him, one hand tracing a path from the base of the Pharaoh's rib cage to rest over one of the Time Lord's hearts, Yugi pressing close. The Pharaoh tried to back away, only to be gently chided as Yugi reached up to tangle his other hand in the Pharaoh's hair. "We could have had much more fun if you had just ignored this."

"Yugi would-"

"Yugi is aware of everything." The words were spoken against his neck, the Pharaoh shivering at the sensation. "And he likes it, he wants it, Pharaoh."

"W-who are you?" He tried to jerk away as Yugi kissed his way up to the Pharaoh's ear, freezing as Yugi pressed himself completely against him with a soft moan.

"The last human…"

"Cassandra!" The last part of her name was cut off as Yugi kissed him again, the human rubbing his body against the Pharaoh's, drawing a moan out of the Time Lord.

Yugi pulled away a moment later, a smirk on his face as he gently traced the Pharaoh's jaw with a finger. "Oh, it could have been so good, pretty boy, and then you ruined it. Sleep well."

The Pharaoh didn't have time to react, Yugi pulling a small vial from his pocket and pressing down on the metal top. The Time Lord had a moment of clear headedness before he lost control of his legs, the world going fuzzy for a moment as he collapsed to the ground. His vision wavered in and out, the Pharaoh struggling to keep his hold on consciousness as he saw Yugi move. He tried to move himself, just getting his hand to twitch before he slumped, just able to listen to the conversation as he edged towards unconsciousness.

"What have you done to him?"

"Just ignore him. He'll be fine. You, however, need to run to your superiors and tell them of this situation. I'm sure it would be awkward if the public found out about this." The Pharaoh heard the sound of someone running, a shadow crossing his vision as Yugi squatted down in front of him, gently guiding his head so the Pharaoh could look at him, the Time Lord's vision constricted to shadows. "What a waste."

He must have blacked out, because he woke up sitting upright. The Pharaoh groaned and blinked, trying to stand up only to be pulled down by the restraints that were on his wrists. He stared at them dumbly before looking around, his heart sinking as he realized where he was. Cassandra must have found an empty pod and had dragged him in here. He looked up, blinking as he realized that someone was walking over, the shadow gaining features as it moved closer to the door.

The Pharaoh nearly snarled as he recognized Cassandra, glaring at her as he strained to get out of his restraints. "Let me out!"

"Oh why should I do that?" Cassandra waved her hand in a flirtatious manner. "I've got you cornered and tied just the way I've always wanted to." She leaned the body up against the door, staring at the Pharaoh through Yugi's eyes. "Now I finally have a thousand ways to kill you. Simple and so satisfying. Besides, you won't do anything as long as I've got your precious Yugi."

"You can't have him, Cassandra!"

Cassandra laughed. "You honestly think that I'm keeping this thing? Aside from distracting you, Yugi is worthless. I'll keep him long enough to find someone more attractive and then I'm throwing him aside. Calm yourself, Pharaoh, and be silent. You're going to ruin my deal."

With that Cassandra was gone, leaning the Pharaoh to stare at the door in front of him in horror. How could she even contemplate doing that? To him, it was an impossible thing to think of. The Pharaoh shook his head, shifting to try and see through the door, uttering a low curse when he couldn't, slumping back and staring around at the tubes.

The nurses had to keep their human lab rats supplied with the diseases so they just didn't run their course or actually be overwhelmed by the drugs that they were testing, which meant that he had a limited amount of time before he was treated to a dose of the diseases. Even his Time Lord physiology wouldn't keep him safe from some of those diseases, and he doubted that the Sisters of Plenitude would let him out so easily, just passing him off as one of their experiments gaining sentience. The Pharaoh winced at the idea, leaning to his right as he heard voices, finally able to see shapes through the door, but he couldn't make out anyone other than Yugi's body, still under the control of Cassandra. He would just have to content himself with listening.

Cassandra spoke first, the Pharaoh wincing as she put a false sweetness in Yugi's voice, that tone not belonging there. "So, now that the cat's out of the bag, if you will forgive the phrase, what are you going to do?"

"I misunderstand you." It was Matron Casp talking. "What do you mean to imply?"

"Well, if you don't give me want I want then I will tell the whole city about the institutional murder that you commit here every day." He could almost imagine the smirk on Yugi's face. "All I want is a little money to make sure I remain silent…and maybe a yacht."

"I'm afraid you don't understand, the Sisterhood never accepts money, people just donate out of their generosity. We only accept."

"Then you should give me some of that."

"I'm afraid we can't do that either." The Pharaoh strained forward, watching as the shadow that he assumed was Matron Casp advanced on Cassandra. "You see, we will not let this go lightly."

"What are you going to do? Your order works on the idea on peaceful existence."

"Unless we are threatened." There was a hiss from Casp, the Pharaoh trying to jerk out of his restraints as he saw Yugi jump backwards.

"Plan B, Chip." Another shadow was moving, the Pharaoh straining to see what he was doing before there was a flash of light, the Pharaoh guess that something had sparked before the restraints let him go. He stood up quickly and slammed his shoulder into the door, grunting as it gave. He stumbled out into the open, his eyes widening as he watched the diseased people stumble out of their pods, grabbing Cassandra and pushing her in the opposite direction. There had to be a way to get out of this place.

"Run!" He shoved Cassandra again; the man that he guessed was called Chip hurrying along with them. Just before they all turned the corner, the Pharaoh looked back, watching as Casp escaped the people, the other nurse not as fortunate. She screamed as the people touched her, boils breaking out on her furry face as she slid down the wall. The Pharaoh spun back around and raced after Cassandra and Chip. "Don't let them touch you, Cassandra. I want that body back in good condition!"

He doubted that she heard him over her screaming, the Pharaoh rolling his eyes and rushing to catch up. The three of them rushed down a flight of stairs, the Pharaoh nearly throwing Cassandra around a corner to keep her from getting touched, realizing that Cassandra had managed to let all of the plague carriers out. The people would probably get out of their dank prison and go up to the main floors of the hospital, spreading their disease through touch. From there, it would be all too easy for it to spread to the city. The Pharaoh glanced back at the people before shaking his head; he would have to focus on one thing at a time. Escape was first, then figuring out what happened to Yugi later.

"Lock down initiated." The Pharaoh glanced up at the announcement, a smile on his face. That meant one less thing to worry about. The plague carriers were stuck in the hospital and contained, which meant that he had time to think of another plan. Still, escaping was the most important thing on his mind.

The charged down a slightly brighter corridor, the Pharaoh reaching out to stop Cassandra as Chip darted away, his hand slapped from her arm. "Let him go, he's not worth our time."

He scowled but followed her into a room, taking a moment to glance around before turning to lock the door with his sonic screwdriver, stepping away as Cassandra ran to the only other door in the room, opening it to reveal a group of the plague carriers. She threw herself against the door, locking it quickly before turning around to stare at him. "We're trapped."

The Pharaoh just nodded, raising his sonic screwdriver and pointing it at the psycograft, destroying the machine when he turned the tool on. Cassandra gasped, ignoring the sound as he walked forward, pocketing the screwdriver. "Let him go, Cassandra."

"My old skin is dead! I have no where to go!"

"Not my problem!"

"We are trapped in a _basement_! Is this really the time to talk about this?"

"I don't care." The Pharaoh took another step forward, watching as Cassandra scrambled to find a place where he wouldn't corner her. "Now, let him go."

"I'll die!"

"Give him back to me!"

Cassandra quailed for a moment after his shout, looking around the room before drawing herself up with a smirk. The Pharaoh barely had time to figure out what her behavior had changed before she spoke. "You asked for it, pretty boy."

He stared at her for a moment, wondering what she meant when he saw Yugi's body slump, a purplish-pink mist rising from him. The Pharaoh blinked, taking a step back as he stared at the mist. He only had a moment to think before it was on him, tearing at his mental barriers and forcing him back into a corner. The Pharaoh attempted to fight, stopping when he realized that Cassandra would only go back to Yugi. He quickly gave her control of his body and motor functions, but kept his store of knowledge away from her, listening as she mentally railed against him before resigning himself to sitting back.

* * *

Yugi rubbed at his forehead, a dull pound there before looking up, his eyes widening as he realized where he was and what had just happened. He shook his head, trying to clear residual fuzziness when he saw the Pharaoh move. Yugi smiled, hoping that the Pharaoh had managed to throw off Cassandra's influence, the smile dying down as the Pharaoh turned around, staring down at himself.

"Well, this is…different. Goodness me, I'm a man. Yum!"

"Hey!" The exclamation was out of his mouth before he had time to think, Yugi glaring at Cassandra instead of getting angry at himself.

"Sorry, honey. You're more of a boy. This," she gestured at the Pharaoh, Yugi finding himself following her motion and then quickly looking back up, "is a man."

Yugi was still blushing, staring at the Pharaoh, listening to Cassandra's commentary on her new host's body. "So many parts…and hardly used."

His gaze dropped to the Pharaoh's crotch with that, Yugi blushing a deeper red before forcing himself to look away. Yugi had to turn away as Cassandra gasped, rubbing his hands over his face in the vain hope that the blush would disappear.

"Oh, oh, two hearts! Oh baby I'm beating out a samba!"

He spun around at that, pointing vaguely in one direction. "Cassandra, get out of him."

She didn't seem to hear him, running a hand down the Pharaoh's body, Yugi following the motion with his eyes, feeling his blush come back, but he couldn't stop looking. Cassandra seemed to notice his gaze, her hand caressing the thigh of her stolen body, one of Yugi's hands twitching with the move. "Oh, he's slim…and a little bit foxy. You think so too."

Yugi looked up at that, stumbling through an explanation that he didn't even believe, most of the words just stuttering. And still Cassandra kept walking forward, Yugi unable to move from his spot. Cassandra sauntered over, resting a hand on his shoulder as she leaned closer. "You've been looking." Yugi shivered as she moved forward, running her tongue over the outer shell of Yugi's ear before whispering into it. "You like it."

"N-no."

"I've been inside your head, Yugi." She moved to place a kiss on his forehead. "Don't bother to lie to me."

"I don't. W-we're just friends."

"Then why are your hands on my waist?" Yugi swallowed harshly and looked down, managing the beginning of what sounded like a word. His hands moved without his permission, drawing the Pharaoh's body closer to his, Yugi shivering at the contact. He heard Cassandra moan, shivers running down his spine at the sound. While Cassandra was still in control of the Pharaoh's body, it was still his voice, that wonderful deep voice.

"Good boy." The two words were cooed out, Yugi feeling the body that he held relax a bit. "Maybe I should keep this body. It's quite attractive."

"No." Yugi tried to pull Cassandra away, only to find that he was trapped. He wiggled a bit, biting back a moan as his body rubbed against the Pharaoh's. But he didn't want this! He wanted time to get over his old Pharaoh, not fall in lust with this new one. And it was such a temptation right now. "I need time."

"What do you need that for? He likes you, isn't that enough?"

"No. I want…I want to know _him_."

Cassandra pulled back, looking disgusted and like she was about to speak when one door burst open, Yugi staring in horror at the plague carriers that were shambling into the room. Cassandra yelped and tugged at his arm. "The Pharaoh, what would he do?"

Yugi turned around, trying to get his brain to function again his mouth falling open as he watched the infected people stumble into the room, their hands outstretched. He spun around, ignoring the panicking Cassandra before spotting a ladder that was behind the frame that her skin had been on, hating that he had missed that earlier. He gritted his teeth and rushed for the ladder, yelping as he was shoved out of the way by Cassandra. "Out of the way, spiky."

He caught himself on the metal frame, growling before rushing forward to start climbing, pushing himself to keep up with Cassandra. He glanced down once confused by a spot of white that suddenly appeared among the torn grey clothes that the infected people wore. He shrugged to himself and focused on climbing, managing what he estimated were a few more floors before something grabbed onto his leg, Yugi turning to look.

Casp hung onto his sneaker, her claws digging in slightly as she hissed at him. Yugi tried to yank his foot away, reacting out of habit. "Pharaoh!"

He saw Cassandra glance back at him before continuing her climb, Yugi cursing and trying to shake the nurse's hand off him. Yugi got a better hold on the ladder, managing to drag himself up one rung before the weight of the cat became too much. He glanced down at his leg before giving it a shake, wincing as she dug her claws in deeper, Yugi looking up to the Pharaoh for help, only to find that Cassnadra was still driving the Time Lord's body upwards. He turned his attention back to the cat. "Get off!"

Casp just tightened her grip, nearly snarling now. "You ruined it, all that healing work! You did this!"

He was about to stutter out an apology when he felt Casp tense, looking down at her in horror as he face became covered in boils, her eyes becoming dull before she loosened her grip on him, falling off the ladder and towards the floor, several floors away. Yugi flinched before hurrying onwards, nearly slipping from the ladder twice before he finally caught up with Cassandra, his heart sinking as he watched her stare at the door. "Open it!"

"He won't tell me what to do!" Cassandra pouted. "He won't tell me anything. He's hidden himself away."

"Then," Yugi glanced down to gauge how much time they had, "then use me for a bit. Get him to open the door! We need to get out of here!"

Cassandra stared at him for a minute before nodding, Yugi watching as the purplish-pink mist appeared, the Pharaoh clinging to the ladder as his body shuddered. Yugi only had a moment to comprehend that before the mist was hovering by him, automatically pulling his consciousness back as Cassandra settled back into place. He hid in his little corner of his mind, paying close attention to what was going on. Under Cassandra's orders, his body straightened to glare at the Pharaoh, Yugi surprised that the Time Lord already had the sonic screwdriver out and was pointing it at her. Cassandra snarled. "Open it already!"

"Not until you leave him."

"We don't have time for this."

"I order you to leave him!" Yugi had to mentally smile a bit at that, feeling incredibly happy that the Pharaoh was so insistent. At least he could still count on the Pharaoh to guard his back, the happy thoughts suddenly coming to an end as he felt Cassandra getting ready to leap back for the Pharaoh. He wrested a bit of control, turning himself slightly to be sure that the mist flowed downward, jumping awkwardly up a few steps before clinging to a ladder, glancing down to see the body of one of the infected humans twitching oddly. He swallowed nervously before turning to look back up at the Pharaoh.

The Time Lord spared a glance at him before turning his sonic screwdriver towards the closed door, Yugi hauling himself up the ladder quickly. If they could both get out of here, then they could solve the problem of these people without worrying about the one that would be under the control of Cassandra. And Yugi didn't want Cassandra seducing the Pharaoh, it was embarrassing and awkward.

He admitted that he _had_ been looking at the new Pharaoh and he did like what he saw, but that was no reason to just throw himself at the Time Lord, he had more self control than that and he prided himself on being sensible; or as sensible as one could be when one traveled through time on a daily basis. And there was still the lingering pain over losing his first Pharaoh, the one that would spout condescending phrases about him and his species almost nonstop, but it was something he missed.

"Yugi!" He looked up as the Pharaoh offered him his hand, Yugi grabbing the appendage and using it to help haul himself up, glancing backwards to look at the distance between them and the infected, not surprised that it was only a narrow margin. Yugi smiled and pulled himself into the corridor, laughing at little in relief before he felt that familiar shove, reacting against it so violently, that he fell to the floor, gasping as Cassandra clawed her way back into his mind.

He was barely aware that the Pharaoh had knelt down to hold him, fighting back control long enough to jerk his head towards the door. The Pharaoh hesitated for a moment before turning to go and shut the door, Yugi shivering as he lay on the ground. He clenched his eyes shut, tempted to use the golden light from before to escape from this, but he didn't want to see the old Pharaoh again, it still hurt too much. He hesitated for a moment before finally allowing Cassandra to take control.

* * *

The Pharaoh looked at the door for a long moment before turning around, wanting to be sure that it would hold. He glanced at Yugi, frowning before kneeling on the ground and resting a hand on his companion's shoulder. "Yugi?"

"Aw, I thought you didn't care about me."

The Pharaoh recoiled, taking a step back before glaring at the human as he sat up. "Cassandra! I told you to get out of him!"

"And I told you that I still needed him."

"I don't care. You're suppressing Yugi's mind, he can't take that for too long. He'll die, Cassandra."

She looked at him, shrugging before standing up. "So be it. It'll be my revenge against you."

The Pharaoh lunged, slamming her against the wall and glaring down at her as she struggled. He tightened his hold on her, listening to her yelp and writhe before letting go, not wanting to injure Yugi's body too badly. He glared at her for a long time before turning around, resisting the urge to punch the wall as he forced himself back into control. "Why didn't you stay in that other body?"

He expected a snappy comeback, blinking in surprise as Cassandra's eyes became unfocused, staring ahead as she shivered. "Inside their heads, such loneliness, such longing. All this time reaching out for comfort and never having been touched." She wiped the tears that had been forming in her eyes away. "I would have gone insane!"

"Better that then this." The Pharaoh looked her over before grabbing her wrist, watching as Cassandra shivered in fear. "But I warn you, as soon as I have dealt with them, I will come after you. Make your choice now."

"I," she had to stop and lick her lips, "I'll die."

"If you don't leave, then I will kill you." He dropped her wrist before storming down the hallway, pulling his screwdriver from his pocket before striding towards Ward 26. He didn't turn around as he heard Cassandra rushing after him, his gaze focused on the plague carriers that beat on the glass windows that surrounded the path that he was using. The Pharaoh looked at all of them, his anger growing. There would have to be a way to cure them, anything to get the Sisters to stop their inhumane experiments. His quick pace slowed for a moment, the Pharaoh glancing over at the diseased people before rushing for the nearest ward.

Since the hospital was under lockdown, the police would come and see what was wrong. They had the codes to end the lock down, but to open the doors would be fatal. The Pharaoh glanced towards the city in the distance, mentally calculating the time he had left. While he couldn't be sure, he had to work quickly. At least protocol demanded that the police call in first, in case it was just an outbreak that could be calmed. He smiled to himself before ducking into the ward, smiling at the confused people as he congratulated himself on another good plan.

"I need you to get all the IV bags for all the diseases. Now!" He shouted the last word while running for the nearest empty bed, glancing up at the winch before pulling out his sonic screwdriver. He glanced back at the people, watching as they gathered the bags together before aiming the sonic at the winch, catching the metal piece as it fell down. The Pharaoh tucked it under his arm, rushing to a chain that lay off in a corner, one part of the mess that came from a broken bed. He fiddled with the chain, finally fashioning a kind of bandolier before rushing over to the pile of bags, attaching them all to his makeshift holder before glancing towards where the plague carriers were, wincing as he watched as they began to open the door.

The Pharaoh turned, rushing towards the elevator shafts, knowing that the door that protected the small area would give at any time. He fumbled for his screwdriver, nearly dropping it as Cassandra latched onto his arm, shaking her head. "The elevators aren't working."

"Exactly." The Pharaoh aimed the screwdriver at the door, watching at it opened up before glancing down the shaft, smiling at what he saw. It was perfect, the elevator car resting at the ground floor. He nodded and took a few steps back, pausing only long enough to shift the winch in his hands before sticking the screwdriver in his mouth, taking a breath around the tool before rushing forward, jumping at the last minute. He latched onto the thick cable, waiting for the worst of the swaying to stop before maneuvering the winch to rest on the cable, using the screwdriver to force the metal back together, hoping that it would hold long enough for him to get to the bottom. He tugged at the winch a couple of times, waiting for it to give and surprised when it didn't. He turned to smile at Cassandra. "Coming?"

"You're insane!"

"Who do you have a better chance we? Me or them?" He jerked his head towards where the plague carriers had made it past the glass shields that had lowered once the lockdown had initiated. She bit her lip before racing forward, screaming as she leapt. The Pharaoh grunted as she collided with his back, holding on to the winch more tightly as he waited for the cable to stop swaying. Cautiously, he tested the winch again before nodding. "Here we go."

He paused only long enough to slip the sonic screwdriver into his pocket before pressing the button that released the break on the winch. The Pharaoh took a deep breath before they plummeted down the shaft, a smile crossing his face as he felt Cassandra press up against him, glorying in the speed. Of course, it was nothing to the speed a TARDIS could get, but it was fun. He glanced down, reaching up to slow down their fall as the elevator car came up quickly, his eyes widening as he felt the quick fix to the winch break before they fell, the Pharaoh relieved that he had gotten their speed down before they had both tumbled to the ground.

The Time Lord picked himself up, wandering over to the nearly empty tub of disinfectant and smiling. He glanced over at Cassandra, glad that she was in one piece before motioning her over to the lever beside the tub. "When I tell you to, pull that lever. It's going to resist, but just keep pulling on it."

Hesitantly, she grabbed a hold of the lever, looking at him with wide eyes. "What are you going to do?"

He didn't answer, pulling off the first of the bags before ripping it open and squirting the contents into the disinfectant. He repeated the process as fast as he could, watching the usually clear disinfectant change colors as he mixed the medicines together. He hoped that this would work; he wouldn't be able to regenerate fast enough if it failed. The Pharaoh shook his head to get rid of that thought, stripping the bandolier from him and throwing it to one side before moving over to the hatch that led into the elevator car, glancing over at Cassandra before opening the hatch.

"Are you insane?"

"Just pull that lever, Cassandra!" He heard her grunt, leaning forward to press the door open button, amazed when that worked. The Pharaoh stared out into the reception area, watching as the plague carriers perked up, all of them looking towards him. He swallowed before nodding. "Over here! That's right, come and get me!"

The people slowly rose to their feet, the Pharaoh backing further into the elevator. His back hit the wall as the first group began to shuffle towards him. The Time Lord held his breath as the first few entered the elevator, letting it out with a whoosh as the medicine laced disinfectant was showered down onto them. He let out a short laugh, watching as the boils on their skins disappeared, most of them straightening up and breathing easier. He smirked, throwing back his head to laugh as the bath of disinfectant stopped, looking forward again as he watched the people shuffled back out, reaching out for their sick brethren. His smile widened as he watched them touch, a slight puff of smoke marking where the medicine hit the body and the healing began almost instantly.

"What did you do?" He looked up as Cassandra began lowering herself into the elevator, catching her as she let go. She blinked up at him for a moment before pushing away. "Did you kill them all?"

"No. You would do that." The Pharaoh walked out of the elevator, watching as the people still milled around, smiling as a few simply hugged each other, enjoying the sensation of touch. "There has been too much death already. It is more prudent to left them live."

"Live and do what?"

"Live." The Pharaoh shrugged before gesturing to the city. "It's their world too, Cassandra, and I will not deny them it."

"But they're-"

"They are human." He gave her a scathing look over. "You aren't."

He spun on his heel, storming back towards the stairs. There were too more things that he had to take care off, both of them better off away from the eyes of all. He began to climb the stairs, trying to steady himself as he fell into the monotonous motion. Now that he had taken care of the immediate danger, he could worry about Yugi, and that was something that made him very uneasy. He wasn't too sure about what the possession would do to Yugi.

He forced himself back to the present, glancing up as he realized that he had started the walk to Ward 26, Cassandra still trialing behind him. The Pharaoh glanced toward one of the large windows, wanting to take his mind off of his companion's problems, brightening when he saw the police coming. Hopefully, something could be done about the Sisters. It would be best if they were kept from doing this ever again, no matter what their motives were. He turned, walking into the Ward, unsurprised to find it deserted. He was surprised to see that the Face of Boe was awake.

 _Pharaoh._ He blinked as the word formed in his head, unused to this kind of telepathy. The TARDIS spoke mostly through images, noises made with the parts inside of her and the manipulation of her own inner dimensions. The Time Lords had an empathic link, not using it for communication but just for the reassurance that family was alright. This talking directly mind to mind was a bit disconcerting, the Pharaoh shoving certain memories away from the forefront of his brain, not wanting the Face of Boe to find out about them. Even he was ashamed of what he had done at times.

The Pharaoh forced a smile on his face before crouching down in front of the jar, watching as the Face of Boe turned to look at him. After a moment of hesitation, he raised his hand to rest on the jar. "I thought you were dying."

 _I had grown tired of the universe and was ready to leave. But you gave me a fresh perspective, a fresh hope. I will not worry about the universe when I finally depart from it with you around, Pharaoh._ The Time Lord ducked his head, giving a harsh laugh before looking back up at the face floating in the jar. As much as he wanted to contradict those words, he would allow them to stand. He was not one to destroy hope.

"I heard a legend about you, something about your death and a secret."

 _Ah. That can wait, my friend. I am not dead yet. But I will tell it to you when we meet for the third and final time._ The Pharaoh blinked as the Face of Boe seemed to dissolve, the sharp metallic tang of the teleport left behind. The Time Lord stared at the place where the large jar had sat before shaking his head and standing up.

"And I look forward to that day."

"Oh good he's gone. The last thing I need was a head full of big face." The Pharaoh turned around to stare at Cassandra, his focus coming to his last problem on the list. Other things could be handled later within the safety of the TARDIS.

He stood up slowly, turning to glare as Cassandra. "Now for you. Don't make me force you to leave."

"But-but, everything is solved. Can't you just leave me here?" She wavered under his glare for a moment before sobbing. "Help me! I know you can! You have the tools here to help me. Why won't you?"

"There comes a time when everything must die."

"But I don't want to die! I want to live."

"Doesn't Yugi have that right?"

"He's not pure!" Cassandra spat the words out, her eyes going wide as she realized the mistake that she had made. She seemed to waver for a moment before shaking her head, plunging on despite the angry glare that was leveled at her. "He's a mut, a mix breed among humans. It sickens me to stay in here."

"Then leave."

"No! I want to live!"

She gasped as the Pharaoh closed the distance between them, resting his hands on the sides of her head. She tried to get away but he held her close, forcing her to look at him. "I gave you a chance, Cassandra, I gave you many of them. There were others that you could have inhabited, the humans with their suppressed minds would have welcomed you, but you insisted on Yugi. And I will not let you have him."

"Please, have mercy."

The Pharaoh stared at her for a long moment, before shaking his head. "No."

He concentrated, spreading his fingers out so two rested behind her ears and two in front of them, his thumbs resting against her cheeks. The Pharaoh closed his eyes, leaning closer and exhaling slowly, breaking through the barriers that she had set up in Yugi's mind and slowly pulling her away, breaking each of her ties to Yugi slowly until she was floating freely in his mind. The Pharaoh took a second to gather himself again before ripping Cassandra's consciousness from Yugi, throwing his own mental barriers up at full strength before extending some to Yugi. Hopefully, it would be enough to keep her out.

The Time Lord opened his eyes, watching as the purplish-pink mist writhed in the air, moving tentatively back towards them before letting out a keen that was heard more mentally than physically. The Pharaoh winced as Cassandra beat against his mental barriers, letting them down a bit to extend more to Yugi, protecting the human as he struggled back into control of his body. His attention shifted to Cassandra again, watching as the mist made a wheezing sound before sinking to the floor, dissolving before it even touched the white tiles.

He breathed a sigh of relief, watching as Yugi blinked, the human's eyes glazed over for a moment before Yugi seemed to come back to himself. The Pharaoh quickly took a step away, giving Yugi the space he needed. Yugi smiled at him, giving a small waved before rubbing his head. "Ow."

"You'll have a headache for a while, but that's about it. It could have gotten worse." The Pharaoh swallowed, hiding the trembling in his hands by shoving them into his pockets. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Yugi gave him a weak smile, managing to stay upright for a moment longer before his eyes rolled back into his head, the human's legs giving out. The Pharaoh jumped forward, catching his companion before he could hit the ground, fumbling to get a better hold as Yugi almost slipped out of his grip. His hearts beat faster, clinging to Yugi as the human worked to recover his balance. To his surprise, Yugi clung to him as well, shaking as he shook his head. "I don't feel good."

"Don't worry, Yugi." He carefully brushed Yugi's bangs away from his face, worried that Yugi's forehead felt hot to the touch. It was probably just a reaction to the possession of his body for such a long time, combined with the fact that there had been two separate possessions. Yugi's body was probably so confused, realizing that it had an invader and acting the only way it could, by raising Yugi's temperature in the hopes to drive out the invader. But a fever couldn't drive out a consciousness implanted in a mind. Still, the fever would pass quickly. The Pharaoh smiled at that thought, glad for the short moment of relief. "I'll take care of you."

A mumbled reply was his responds, Yugi sagging in his arms as he lost consciousness. The Pharaoh held his companion awkwardly for a moment before carefully picking up Yugi bridal style, shifting so he could balance Yugi before heading to the elevators, pressing the button to go back down. He was relieved to find that the elevators were working, stepping into the car and riding back down to the main level.

To his dismay, the police were swarming everywhere, which meant that it would be difficult to get Yugi out without someone questioning him. He cautiously took a step out, slumping slightly when he realized that the police were too busy categorizing the new humans to notice him. The Pharaoh nodded and walked quickly towards the entrance, almost coming to a shocked halt when he saw Novice Hame staring at him. The cat nurse stared at him for a moment more before looking away, the Pharaoh not too sure how to take the motion, but walked out of the doors anyway.

Once outside, he took a deep breath of the apple grass-scented air, letting it out with a long sigh before turning in the direction of the TARDIS, adjusting his hold on Yugi as his companion began to slip. He glanced down at the human, smiling as he watched Yugi reach out to grab a handful of his shirt, mumbling something as he curled closer to the Time Lord, the Pharaoh giving into his urges and cuddling Yugi close for a moment before setting off again.

* * *

 _It was a tornado, a horrible swirl of faces he didn't know, events that he hadn't heard of and burning planets. It twirled faster, images flashing on the tornado's golden surface, the wind singing a soft melody despite the ferocity of the twister. That song was enough to put him off his guard, but that failed to happen the longer he stared at the rush of events, screaming out in fear as he saw faces that he recognized and dead bodies strewn across the ground._

 _He turned to try to get away, managing only a few steps before he fell to his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks. He looked over his shoulder as he heard the tornado call his name, the syllables mixed in with titles that he didn't recognize and in languages that he didn't understand. He screamed again, pushing up to his feet again and staggering on, the tornado following him, but never sucking him in._

 _He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to calm himself down, yelping as he collided with someone, the person catching him before he could fall again. With weeping eyes, he looked up at the man, his mouth dropping open in surprise as he saw that it was the Pharaoh, the Time Lord constantly shifting between the two versions that he had known; first blue-eyed and cold and then red-eyed and passionate. He was sure that he called out to the Pharaoh, but he could only hear the song behind him, blinking when he realized that it had changed. He stared at the Pharaoh, guessing that the new song was coming from the Time Lord._

 _There was only time to process that before the Pharaoh gently pushed him to one side, pausing long enough to place a chaste kiss on his forehead, before walking off. He tried to grab at the Time Lord's sleeve, missing by mere inches. And still the Time Lord walked on, disappearing into the swirling vortex before he could move._

 _For a moment, he couldn't comprehend what had happened. Then, all he could do was scream. "No!"_

"Sh, I've got you." Yugi woke up suddenly at the soft words, realizing that he was still thrashing, coming out of the terror of his dream. He glanced over at the speaker, his eyes widening as he recognized the silhouette of the Pharaoh, only needing that before he launched himself at the Time Lord, curling up on his lap and clinging to the alien. The Pharaoh didn't seem flustered by this, gently holding Yugi. "I won't let anything happen to you, Yugi. You're safe."

Slowly, Yugi relaxed, surprised when he realized that he was sobbing onto the Pharaoh's shoulder, wanting to pull away before the usual insult was sent his way. He tensed as the Pharaoh held him close when he tried to move, not sure of what to make of the shift before giving up. He was still tired and his head hurt. Yugi moaned and allowed himself to be held, the sound ending as a hiss as his head pounded. "Yugi?"

"Head hurts."

"I'm not surprised." The Pharaoh stood up, Yugi yelping and clinging to him as the Time Lord carried him out of his room and into the corridor of the TARDIS. The Pharaoh merely walked across the hall, the door there swinging open to reveal an infirmary. Yugi looked around with interest as the Pharaoh gently set him on a table, moving to one of the shelves before throwing him a bottle of aspirin, Yugi catching it and giving the Pharaoh a worried look. The Time Lord waved him on. "I can't touch it."

"Why not?" Yugi quickly skimmed over the instructions before tossing back one pill, swallowing harshly in an attempt to get it down. He screwed the cap back on and set the bottle on the table, waiting for the Pharaoh's reaction.

The Time Lord stared at him for a while before looking down at the floor. "It's deadly my species…well, me."

"So why do you keep it?"

"For my companions." Yugi's eyes widened in surprise at the statement, the Pharaoh looking sheepishly up at him. He considered pushing the subject further, but decided to just let it slide. It was something that the Pharaoh was obviously uncomfortable with.

"Anything else I should know about you and what to keep away from you?"

"Anything alcoholic. I can get drunk off of one shot glass of anything." Yugi stared at him for a while before laughing, the reaction getting a smile out of the Pharaoh. "It's true. Thank Ra that I sober quickly, but that's still something."

Yugi wrapped his arms around his stomach trying to calm down. He looked up as the Pharaoh crossed the room, reaching over to pick up the aspirin and returning the bottle to its place in the cabinet. Yugi took a deep breath, glancing around the infirmary before looking back at the Pharaoh, surprised to see that the Time Lord was leaning against the table that he was sitting on already. Yugi tried to move away from the Pharaoh's searching gaze, surprised when the Pharaoh reached up to place a hand on his cheek, holding his head in one place. "Are you sure that you are alright?"

"Yeah." The word came out as a sigh, Yugi relaxing as he felt calm sweep through him, noticing the smile on the Pharaoh's face as the Time Lord removed his hand, leaning against his arms on the table. "Some of my memories are a bit fuzzy though."

"That's a normal side effect of having your consciousness suppressed. It'll fade after a few days." The Pharaoh frowned. "You might still have headaches. Come and talk to me if that happens and I'll see what I can do."

Yugi laughed and hopped down from the table. "Yes, doctor."

"Hey, I have a doctorate."

"Really?"

"Yes, from the Academy on Gallifrey…" The Pharaoh trailed off, turning his head away, the jovial mood gone.

Yugi bit his lip before inching closer to the Pharaoh, resting a hand on the Time Lord's arm. The Pharaoh glanced up at him before nodding, taking the silent apology that Yugi had offered. The human smiled and let his hand fall from the Pharaoh's arm, intending to go back to bed and hope this headache disappeared. But there was still something that he had to find out about. Yugi hesitated a moment more before turning back around to look at the Pharaoh. "The stuff that happened…when Cassandra…"

The Pharaoh stared at him for a moment before waving a hand to dismiss the topic. "You weren't in control and I don't hold it against you. Get some sleep, Yugi."

He smiled before walking back across the hall to his room, slipping back under the covers and curling up, reaching to cuddle the Blue-Eyes plushie close. He stared at the dragon for a while, aware that a tear was running down his cheek. Yugi still remembered the wonder that the old Pharaoh had regarded the plushie, the way that it had been singled out over all of the others. Yugi stifled a whimper before pulling the stuffed dragon closer to himself, tears rolling silently down his cheeks.

 __

* * *

 _Please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome._


	8. Tooth and Claw

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Chapter Seven: Tooth and Claw**

**Chapter Seven: Tooth and Claw**

" _Come, begin your tale, Sir Robert. There's a chill in the air. The wind is howling through the eaves. Tell us of monsters!_ _"_

-Queen Victoria

Lady Isobel MacLeish stared out into the falling rain through her window, giving a long sigh before shifting on the window seat, smiling as she brushed her hand over the stone. Her husband had made this for her, the only alteration that Robert had done to his family's house, and it had been for her since she loved to look out into the yard. He joked that she was surveying her domain; which was not far from the truth. She just couldn't get enough of the green countryside that surrounded the Torchwood Estate, having fallen in love with the land as much as she had fallen in love with the lord of the estate. A smile crossed her lips at the thought of her husband, reaching over her shoulder to play with her hair, braiding and unbraiding it as she stared out into the rain soaked courtyard.

She didn't look over her shoulder as someone entered the room, a soft smile on her face as she addressed one of her maids. "Good morning, Flora. How are you today?"

"Well, my lady." She turned slightly to look at the young brunette, Flora curtseying before going about her business in the room. Isobel leaned back against the stone, directing her gaze to the courtyard again, listening to the girl move around in her room.

"How fairs your family?"

"Well." There was a waver in Flora's voice for a moment. "My Ma is over the worst of it now and the doctors say that she will soon be better."

"I bet your father is thrilled."

"Yes, my lady. He and Ma were childhood sweethearts. I would kill him if she died." Flora smiled fondly at the thought of her parents before turning to look at Isobel. "I heard that you and Sir Robert were much the same."

"Oh, not quite. We hated each other for a few years as children over the smallest things. I hated him because he had better land than my father and he hated me because I had a better horse than he. But I think we worked it out by now." Isobel turned and winked and Flora. "His horse was the first colt of my mare, like I would give up my loyal steed."

The two laughed for a moment, Flora sobering first and giving the view outside a scathing glance. "Oh, if only it were not raining we would not be stuck in here. We are all restless with the cold winter and want to be outside in the sun."

"But the rain will be good for the ground. Hopefully we have another good harvest this year, we might need it for a second winter like that." Isobel rested a hand against the glass, shivering at the cold. "Tell me, how did those in your village fair?"

"It was getting worrisome near the end, my lady. We had enough, it just looked like less." Flora shook her head. "And we wouldn't have come begging, we are proud, stubborn people."

"Aye, you are." Isobel nodded, frowning as she saw a line of people in brown hoods walking into the courtyard, leaning forward slightly. She recognized them as monks, glancing at the cross that they bore in front of them before her attention moved to the low wagon that two of them pulled. At first, she wondered about the lack of a horse, realizing later that they would have left it behind at the monastery. The monks around the estate preferred a life close to poverty, saying that it brought them closer to the Lord, although they genuinely thanked her for her offers of help in their times of need. All except one. Isobel frowned at the memory of the place; Robert hadn't even let her go near it and she respected her husband's judgment on that.

"My lady?"

"Come, Flora, look at this." The maid moved over to the window, the two women looking down as the steward to the estates walked up to the monks, Isobel shivering as their leader pushed back his hood. The two men spoke for a while in low voices, Isobel cursing the fact that she was not down there as well. She turned back to Flora as the girl gasped, waiting for the maid to get over her shock.

"It's him, my lady, Father Angelo. He's the leader of the monks from the Glen of Saint Catherine. He came to the village once while my Ma was sick, Da called him in to give her the blessings before death because the priest was snowed into his house and Angelo was a guest." Flora shivered, rubbing her arms. "He did many strange things and it frightened me. I love God with all my heart and soul, my lady, but that man I do not trust, even if he was chosen by God to serve him."

"I believe you. Ro-My husband says the name thing about him." Isobel caught herself, reminding herself to be proper. The queen was coming to stay at their estate; she had to relearn her manners; she and Robert were very casual towards each other and the people who lived with them. She herself had given up her bed to the steward's wife she went into labor, being there while Robert had distracted the worried father. And she and Robert were caught kissing as often as the younger servants, tucked away some secret corner. She smiled at the memories before reminding herself to act like a true lady in the presence of the queen; it would do her no good to embarrass her husband.

"My lady…" Flora's whisper called her attention back to the scene in the courtyard, Isobel scowling as the steward made quick, angry gestures with his hands before turning away, leaving Father Angelo to stare at him. She shivered at the hatred that was in that stare, about to tell Flora to run and get Robert when the monks moved.

Their cloaks were tossed towards the two that had pulled the wagon in, thrown on top of the covered load of the wagon. Their walking sticks were raised from the ground, some of the mud shaken off as they walked forward, startling the few people that were in the yard. Isobel caught the flash of steel as well as monks revealed knives; one even carrying a sword. Isobel gasped, her hands rising to cover her mouth, eyes wide as the monk who carried the cross reached up to take the carved wooden statue of Christ crucified off the staff, throwing it carelessly away. The monks were ready for battle in under a minute, the people in the yard still too shocked to act.

When the attack came, it was swift, the monks lashing out with their staves and knocking people to the ground, but never killing them. Isobel noted the behavior before nodding to herself. She had to tell this to Robert, he was the only one that could stop this. First, she had to take care of the women in her staff, unsure of what the monks would do to them. She turned to take a hold of Flora, nearly dragging the girl out of her room and into the corridor. "Flora, gather all the maids and have them spread the word, all the women to the kitchen, you can escape out the back that way and hide in the woods. May God go with you, child."

She urged Flora on before turning and picking up her skirts, running towards her husband's rooms. She had reached the stairs when a crash sounded from below, Isobel freezing at the sound of screams. She sent up a quick prayer that everyone in the manor would be alright before continuing her frantic run, her heard beating faster as she heard running feet on the stairs. Isobel glanced behind her and cursed out loud; hating the dress and trappings that kept her from running as swiftly as she could. But that would not stop her. Isobel looked forward again, a smile crossing her face as she saw Robert's door was partially open. "Robert!"

Isobel heard something fall over in the room as Robert rushed out, his blue eyes wide as he stared at her. She was about to shout the rest of her message when two monks grabbed her, Isobel screaming and thrashing in their hold. "Unhand me! Let me go!"

"What are you doing? Let her go!" She looked up as Robert walked into the hall, a bit disappointed to see that he didn't have any weapons with him. Isobel tensed as she felt cold metal against her throat, going still as the knife was pressed against her skin. Robert stopped as well, swaying in place as he decided whether to retreat or try to save her before her throat was slit.

"I wouldn't do that, Sir Robert"

Robert turned, glaring at the man who stood at the door of his room. "Father Angelo, what is the meaning of this?"

The monk shrugged and stepped away. "Women are such frail creatures. Think on it as us doing you a favor. One day, she would have tired of you and found another man to love her. Would you want that?"

"Isobel would never-"

"You will allow us the use of your house." The monk cut off Robert, glancing back at the knight before shrugging. "It's a simple request and your wife did offer aid to any who came to her. All we require is the house for the night."

"I did not extend that offer to you!" Isobel struggled a bit before forcing herself to calm down, watching as Robert stared at the monk.

"Why?"

"We wish to greet the queen ourselves. I heard that she is coming here." The sneer on Father Angelo's face made Isobel shiver. "Your staff will be allowed to go home, save a few to keep you willing to assist us, and we will take their places. All you have to do is to pretend that nothing is wrong, and then nothing will go wrong."

"Whatever you are planning, it is treason and I will not do it!"

Father Angelo's sneer disappeared for a moment before returning, Isobel whimpering as he drew a sword from its place in his belt. She leaned back, gasping as one of the monks that was holding her grabbed her hair and held her still. Father Angelo walked steadily forward, shifting his grip on the sword. Isobel looked up at Robert, shaking her head as she watched her husband step forward, slumping in her captor's grip as he spoke. "Wait. Spare her and the others."

"A good choice, Sir Robert." Father Angelo sheathed his sword again before turning around to speak to Robert. "Your wife will be kept with the others, but safe, to ensure your cooperation. I'm sure you can make up an excuse for her absence. As soon as the queen departs, we will free your servants and your wife and everything will be forgiven." Robert just glared at the monk, Father Angelo shrugging before snapping his fingers. "Take her to the cellar, chain her up with the rest."

Isobel allowed herself to be dragged off, glaring at the floor. Of course Robert would choose her life first, although he would come to regret the decision. The safety of their country and their queen was more important than her, although a secret part of her enjoyed the fact that he loved her enough to commit treason. She hung her head with a sigh, paying no attention to her surroundings as she was led into the cellar, only glancing up then to see that the servants were all chained down here. She was shoved down beside Flora, shackles closed around her wrists before the monks left, Isobel glaring after them before turning to look at Flora.

"My lady, I am sorry. I failed you. I was caught."

"You did the best that you could under the circumstances. Even I failed in my mission." She examined the shackles before looking back at the rest of the servants and smiling. "We will just have to wait and see what they do. If we can, we will help our lord beat them back. We will not be so easily surprised again."

"But, my lady, they have been talking to us. They say that they have a weapon to keep our silence."

Isobel looked at the maid in confusion. "A weapon? What sort of-"

The outside doors to the cellar opened, Isobel staring at the two monks who strained to bring the large covered box that she had seen on the wagon down. She heard some of the servant mutter under their breath, not having the heart to keep them from cursing their captors. The monks just sneered at them before settling the box down, staring at them before reaching up to remove the ropes on it. Isobel felt a shiver run down her spine, watching as the last of the rope was thrown back from the box, the two monks grasping the cloth cover of the box with wide grins.

"What's in there?" She turned to look at the steward as he spoke, the man leaning forward. "Fathers, answer me, what is in there?"

The two looked at each other, hands getting a better grip on the cloth before they turned back to look at the captives. Isobel was surprised at the blank expression on their faces, expecting something closer to victory than that. The monks spoke then, completely in unison as they pulled back the cloth, revealing the thing in the cage. "May God have mercy on your souls."

Isobel took one look at the thing and screamed.

* * *

Yugi stepped up onto the grating that surrounded the console, surprised that there was no one in the room. He hummed to himself and circled the console, smiling when he saw a pair of legs sticking out from under it. He crouched down, peering into the dark space and seeing the blue light that came from the sonic as the Pharaoh worked to keep his time machine intact. "Everything alright?"

"Worn wires and that's about it." The Pharaoh grunted as he wiggled out of the tight space, wiping his face on the sleeve of his shirt before looking up at the TARDIS console. "We'll have to stop at one of the Market planets soon, I'm running out of stuff here."

Yugi moved out of the way, allowing the Pharaoh to get up, watching the Time Lord stretch. He wondered how long the Pharaoh had been squeezed in there, shaking the thought away the next moment. Time wasn't important on the TARDIS, he ate when he was hungry and slept when he was tired. Yugi leaned against the console, watching as the Pharaoh walked over to the captain's chair to retrieve his black coat before looking at Yugi. "But that can wait. How are you feeling?"

"Better. The headache is gone, at least." Yugi smiled, glad that the near insistent pounding of his head was gone. While some of the events that had gone on while he possessed were still fuzzy, he was sure that the clarity would come back to him. He blushed as the Pharaoh walked around the console; he remembered all too well how Cassandra had forced him to kiss the Pharaoh, the thought embarrassing him. After all, he had begged for them just to be friends so he could get used to this idea and then he had kissed him. That said, it was a very good kiss. Yugi shook his head, pushing the thought out of his mind as the Pharaoh moved back into sight, smiling at the Time Lord. "Where to?"

"I was thinking somewhere modern, but not your time." The Pharaoh shivered. "I've had enough of your mother to last me quite a while. I swear she was flirting with me."

"I don't blame her." The Pharaoh gave him a shocked look, Yugi just shrugging. "You're kind of a pretty boy now."

"Pretty boy?"

"Mm." Yugi nodded slowly, nearly laughing at the affronted look on the Pharaoh's face. "You should have thought of that when you regenerated."

"It's not my fault."

"Hey, you control that…thing."

The Pharaoh blushed before muttering something under his breath, walking around the console as he input coordinates. The Time Lord stopped with his hand on the lever that would send the TARDIS into motion, sighing before looking at Yugi. "I'm not very good at that."

"At what?"

"Controlling regeneration." The Pharaoh winced, stepping away from the console and staring at the ceiling. "Other Time Lords could change into whatever they wanted. Show them a picture once and they could regenerate into an exact replica of the person, when their time came. I never could. It's like a randomizer for me, a bunch of genes mixed in with people I've been around. On the bright side it is a surprise. Although," the Pharaoh shuddered, "there have been times where I regretted looking in the mirror."

"So you weren't always a pretty boy?" Yugi smiled, watching the Pharaoh sputter for a moment before shaking his head. He nodded, allowing the Pharaoh to reach for the lever again before speaking. "Well, as a survivor of two of your generations-and, yes, I meant to phrase it like that-I disagree."

"What?"

"You had that tall, dark and handsome thing going for you last time." Yugi tipped his head to the side, forcing himself to keep a straight face as he continued to tease the Time Lord. "And now you're like a better version of me, a sexier me."

The Pharaoh stared at him for a moment before swallowing, his voice coming out a bit higher than usual. "How does 1979 sound?"

"Where?"

"England." The Pharaoh pulled his screen closer to him, staring at the writing that flashed across it. "There's a concert there. Ian Dury and the Blockheads."

"Never heard of them."

"Your loss." The Pharaoh pulled the lever, Yugi quickly grabbing a hold of the edge of the console as the TARDIS rocked into motion, listening to the old engines strain to get them moving. He lost his grip for a moment, tumbling to one side only to be caught by the Pharaoh as the Time Lord moved past, falling into the usual romp around the console as he flew his ship. Yugi just laughed and hung on, waiting for the moment when the Pharaoh would reach for the lever again, then he would have to brace himself. While the TARDIS was still a wild ride, this Pharaoh seemed to enjoy speeding along, or maybe that was Yugi's imagination.

He saw the Time Lord reach for the lever, bracing himself for the thump of the TARDIS as it landed, reacting a moment too slow. He grunted as he was thrown to the floor, hearing something else hit the grating beside him. He rolled to his side, laughing as he saw the Pharaoh rubbing the back of his head. "You alright."

"Yeah. Forgot that she tends to have a bit of a kick after repairs." He stood up slowly reaching out to help Yugi to his feet before walking to the door, pulling on his coat. Yugi bounded after him.

"So what happens in 1979 besides this concert?"

"Well, China invades Vietnam." The Pharaoh tipped his head to the side before opening the door and stepping out. "I'm sure there's other stuff but it's not coming…to mind…right now..."

The Pharaoh trailed off, Yugi shutting the door behind him and ducking around the Time Lord, his eyes widening as he found himself staring up at a soldier on a horse. His eyes remained on the gun that the soldier had before they moved to the black horse, then to the red coat that the soldier wore. He turned his gaze away from the soldier to look at the others that surrounded them, getting a glimpse of a black carriage when he heard the soldier speak, a bit surprised at the accent. "You will tell us what you are doing here?"

"Are we in Scotland?" The Pharaoh smiled, Yugi staring at him.

The soldier looked confused before nodding. "Yes, you are? Only a man with an addled mind would not know that."

"I'm sorry, I've been dazed and confused nearly all day." Yugi felt his heart speed up as the Pharaoh adapted the Scottish brogue, swallowing as he felt his throat go dry. Suddenly, he understood why women loved to hear men with different accents speak; it could be downright hot. He came back to himself as the Pharaoh gave him a nudge, looking at him with concern before going back to his explanation. "My daughter ran off with a man, not her betrothed. My friend here has been helping me look for her; we've been at it for days. I have credentials…"

The soldier hesitated before lowering his gun, the Pharaoh staring at him as he fished the physic paper out of his pocket, flipping the leather wallet open and showing it to the soldiers. "As you can see, I am a doctor from Glasglow. I heard news that my daughter has passed this way and I'm investigating-"

"Let them approach, Captain Reynolds." Yugi peeked around the Pharaoh again, staring at the coach. He barely heard the soldier's stuttered reply, wondering who was in the carriage to be so heavily guarded. "I am not afraid of them, Captain Reynolds. Let them approach."

Reynolds glared at them before putting his gun away, motioning for them to approach the coach. Yugi glanced up at the Pharaoh, trying to copy the Time Lord's confidence, only to fail in the face of his curiosity. From what he could easy gather, this wasn't 1979, but it was still England, or the general area that he associated with England. He felt his heart beat faster with excitement, one of the footmen for the carriage glancing at them before opening the door.

Tucked inside was a woman, obviously somewhat elderly from her grey hair that was kept neatly pinned back. She wore a simple black dress, but carried herself with regal splendor even when sitting. Even though she was old, Yugi could tell from her eyes that she would not be dying for a while, still too vigorous to give up on life. The woman smiled at them, Yugi surprised when the Pharaoh gave an elegant bow, feeling the woman's eyes on him. He shifted nervously feeling like he should do something, deciding to bow himself, feeling her gaze on his back for a moment before he looked up again, the woman focused entirely on the Pharaoh. Yugi jumped as he felt a hand rest on his arm, glancing over at the Pharaoh and listening when the Time Lord spoke. "Yugi Mutou, may I present Her Majesty, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India and Defender of the Faith."

"A great introduction, my dear doctor…"

"McDonald, your majesty." The Pharaoh gave a bow. "David McDonald."

Queen Victoria tilted her head in acknowledgement, turning her gaze back to Yugi and giving him a long look, Yugi wanting to quell under that gaze. "And who is this, that he does not know me."

"And dear friend, your majesty, from the Orient. He wanted to see life in the British Empire and begged to come along with me."

"That does explain the clothes." Yugi blushed and looked down at his jeans and t-shirt, looking away as the queen finished looking him over before clearing her throat. "Then I welcome you to Scotland, Yugi Mutou and forgive you slight."

"Yes ma'am. My apologies, ma'am."

"As I said, you are forgiven." Queen Victoria waved her hand in a dismissive motion before looking at the Pharaoh. "And I wish you luck in finding you daughter, as a mother of girls, I know how flighty then can be. Come, it grows dark and I do not trust the Scottish weather. At least join us until tomorrow, we are close to the estate where I will spend the night."

The Pharaoh nodded slowly, Yugi glancing over at the Time Lord and wondering what the Pharaoh was thinking about. He even had to pull the Pharaoh back a bit as the carriage door was shut before it rumbled on, the Time Lord automatically falling into step beside Yugi as they walked after the slow moving carriage. Yugi stared at the Time Lord for a moment, waiting to see if he would have to ask what was wrong and relieved when the Pharaoh spoke. "Why would Queen Victoria be travelling by carriage? It would be much faster, and safer, for her to travel by train."

"A tree fell on the tracks." They both looked up to see Captain Reynolds circling back to speak to them. "It would have delayed her too long to wait for it to clear, and it would have been too dangerous for her to wait that long."

"An assassination attempt?"

"An accident." Reynolds spoke the words with a sternness that brought an end to the conversation, the captain urging his horse forward again, leaving Yugi and the Pharaoh to trudge after the carriage.

Yugi let the Pharaoh think in peace for a few more moments before looking over at the Time Lord. "So, not 1979?"

"No, 1879." The Pharaoh waved a hand dismissively. "Same thing." Yugi was about to disagree when the Pharaoh continued on. "So, Prince Albert has died by now and she's traveling in Scotland with a small guard. Something is up."

"Something is always up when we land." Yugi was treated to a fond smile, knocking his shoulder into the Pharaoh before looking ahead at the carriage. "So she's the Queen of Britain?"

"Among other things. Longest reigning monarch in British history." The Pharaoh gave him a smile, reaching down to take his hand as they walked. "At least we can find out what's going on."

Yugi stared down at the hand that he held, a little unsure of what to do. While he didn't want to let go, he wasn't used to a display of affection from the Pharaoh. Still, the Time Lord was abiding by his promise, and Yugi didn't want to cause any tension between them because of that. In the end, he just smiled and gave the Pharaoh's hand a squeeze, nearly skipping as they walked along. "I thought it would be raining."

"It doesn't always rain in Britain."

Yugi laughed, shaking his head and looking at the rolling green hills. It was beautiful, this place, different from the cities that he was used to, but still beautiful. He thought that he mother would have liked it here, but definitely not Miho. His ex-girlfriend was a city girl to the bone, Yugi smiling at that thought. At least he was about to think about her without feeling guilty, sure that he had made the right decision when he had broke up with her. He glanced down at their swinging hands again, another question coming to mind. "So, David McDonald?"

"Good Scottish name."

"Real person?"

"Yes." The Pharaoh tipped his head to the side, thinking for a moment before answering. "I think that he's an actor around your time. Very popular actually. Acts in some science fiction show."

"You mean you don't watch it?" Yugi pretended to be appalled, drawing a chuckle out of the Pharaoh.

"If I did, I would be shouting at the screen for its inaccuracies. Never let me watch science fiction, Yugi."

"Alright, we'll watch gooey romantic movies. You know, the kind my mother adores."

He was treated with an angry glance, chuckling at the memory of the day they had all been cooped up inside and his mother insisted on watching romantic movies all day. Yugi had been sure that the Pharaoh would have gone insane. He laughed as the Pharaoh looked back towards the carriage. "Traitor."

Yugi kept laughing as they walked, the two falling into a steady pace as they followed the carriage down the path. Yugi wasn't sure how long they traveled, but the sun began to sink, Yugi glancing worriedly at the country around them. Queen Victoria had said that they were going to stay somewhere, but he couldn't see any kind of house.

They made it over the rise they had been climbing, Yugi's mouth dropping open in shock as he stared at the stone manor, glancing at the plaque on the gates that had the name on the place carved into it; Torchwood Estate. He was confused by the odd name before he shrugged it off, stepping to one side once they were in the yard to allow the carriage to come about. Yugi barely had time to take in the well kept yard before the man he assumed was the master of the house walked from the door, bowing to the queen as she was helped down from the carriage. "I hope you had a safe journey, ma'am."

"It was not without its share of mishaps I will admit, but I am safe." Queen Victoria looked around; frowning as she seemed to notice something was off. "But where are your wife and the servants?"

The lord of the manor swallowed nervously before nodding slowly. "I'm afraid that Lady Isobel had an emergency with her family that she had to attend immediately, and she has taken most of the servants with her. I'm sorry to have to present myself and the house to you like this, but it is the truth, we have barely enough to serve you well. There is another house but a few miles from here that would be better staffed."

"Night is coming too fast to travel on that far. I will brave the discomfort to remain here, at the house that Prince Albert loved so." Yugi heard the sadness in her voice, glancing up at the Pharaoh before watching as two soldiers leaned into the carriage, rooting around for something that was in there, Yugi distracted from their actions as Queen Victoria spoke. "No matter, I wish to see the telescope that you father bragged so much about."

For a moment, the lord of the manor looked ashamed before nodding slowly. "I will show you my father's pride and joy. My servants will care for you to their best efforts. Come, you and your companions are welcome."

Yugi felt the Pharaoh tug at his hand, dropping it a moment later as they walked into the house. Yugi looked back over his shoulder, surprised to see that the two soldiers had retrieved something from the carriage and were now carrying the small box deeper into the house. He strained to see them and get a better look at what they were carrying before turning his attention back to their host, Queen Victoria introducing them as they began to climb a flight of stairs. "This is Dr. David McDonald and his companion, Yugi Mutou. We met them on the road. They search for the good doctor's daughter who ran off."

"Ah, my sincerest apologies my friend, I will let you know if I hear word of her."

The Pharaoh smiled and nodded. "That would be appreciated. The girl takes after her mother with her flighty spirit."

"Aren't all women so?" The lord of the manor looked over at Queen Victoria, who simply waved him on. The man cleared his throat before speaking again. "I am Sir. Robert MacLeish, lord of this manor. I welcome you to my humble home and apologize for the state of its affairs. As I said before, a family emergency called my wife away unexpectedly."

"Understandable Sir Robert; family is very important." The Pharaoh sobered for a moment after he said this, Yugi inching closer to the Time Lord to offer his silent support. Thankfully, nothing more was said on the subject and the rest of their climb up the long staircase was made in silence.

They walked down a long hallway, Sir Robert opening up two doors at the end that led into a large room, the ceiling back out of wood and glass. He gestured at the long bronze tube that took up most of the room with a sad smile on his face. "There it is, my father's masterpiece. He used to be up here so often working on this thing…I never got any time with him."

The Pharaoh moved from is place, walking up to the telescope and resting a hand on it. "Well, he did a fine job with this."

"Sir Robert's father was a great scientist and a good friend." Queen Victoria smiled fondly as she spoke. "He also had a certain weakness for folktales as I recall. Albert used to tell them to me sometimes and I would laugh…" She cleared her throat, wiping her cheeks after a moment. "There are also tales of a wolf."

"Perhaps that might be best talked about after dinner." Sir Robert spoke haltingly, staring at the bald man dressed as a butler. The butler hesitated a moment longer before bowing. The Scottish lord nodded quickly before looking at those assembled. "My butler tells me that dinner is ready to be served. While nothing like my cook usually makes, it will still be something. I'll have people lead your to your rooms to refresh yourself before dinner and then I'll meet you in the dining room."

He smiled before walking out, Queen Victoria following him a moment later. Yugi shrugged and went to go after them when he heard the Pharaoh sigh, turning around to see the Time Lord looking through the telescope. He stood up straight again and shook his head. "For a work of wonder, it's horribly made."

Yugi was a bit disappointed to hear the Pharaoh drop the Scottish accent, shaking his head before going to lean on the telescope. "What do you mean?"

"Too many mirrors to magnify, it just scrambles things up." The Pharaoh stared at the surface of the ill-made telescope before leaning forward and dropping his voice to a whisper. "And another thing, Sir Robert's staff, they aren't right."

"You heard him."

"I did, but I also heard something else. He looks scared." Yugi stared at the Pharaoh for a while, the Time Lord nodding before looking around. "These servants don't treat him as a lord that they are loyal to and I doubt that he had treated his servants badly before. Also, they all look wrong, all men, all bald. As I said before, something is up."

Yugi nodded slowly, seeing where the Pharaoh was going. His mind stuck on the one entreaty that Sir Robert had offered twice, finding that some of the phrasing that the Scottish lord had used as odd. Yugi glanced at the door before leaning forward himself. "He asked us to leave twice and he keeps belittling his house. If a queen visited me, I would be spouting the praises of where I live instead of where it fails."

"Exactly. That and the tree across the railroad…" The Pharaoh stared off into the distance for a moment before pushing away from the telescope, resting a hand on Yugi's shoulder. "We'll try to find out more at dinner. I'll meet you in the dinning room."

He nodded, surprised when the Pharaoh gave him a quick hug before walking off, Yugi staring after the Time Lord before following, surprised to find that the Pharaoh had already disappeared. He was probably off searching the house for a clue that would make this whole situation make sense. Yugi rolled his eyes before heading down the stairs, looking for someone who would show him where he would spend the night. He hummed to himself as he walked down the dark corridors, wondering why no one had bothered to light the candles yet, jumping when he heard a floorboard shift.

Yugi quickly walked around a corner, relaxing as he saw two from the queen's guard standing in front of a door with their guns at the ready. Yugi gave them a friendly wave, relieved when they returned the greeting. He continued to walk down the hall, wondering when he would run into one of the few members of staff when a bald man dressed in black walked past him. Yugi stared at the cups that the man carried, wondering what was going on. He hesitated for a moment before following the servant, trying to be as quiet as possible.

He ducked behind a half open door, watching carefully as the servant presented the drinks to the men, a few quiet words exchanged before he walked away. The guards talked to themselves for a moment, sipping their drinks before falling back into silence. Yugi watched them for a few minutes more, about to move off to find another servant when he saw the guards shaking their heads, swaying unsteadily as they stood. He frowned and moved from his hiding place, inching closer. He was just in front of the guards when they fell to the ground, Yugi gasping and sliding on his knees on the floor, watching as both of them fell asleep. He frowned and reached for the cups they had been drinking out of, sniffing carefully at it.

Yugi gagged at the scent that came to him, wondering how the guards had missed it. It wasn't anything that he recognized, but he would be willing to bet it was a drug. He set the cup down, looking around before getting to his feet. He had to tell the Pharaoh, or Captain Reynolds. They had to know that the servants were not to be trusted. He didn't know what that meant for the queen, but he had a bad feeling about it.

He turned to run, gasping as he saw one of the bald servants looking down at him. He took a step back, stumbling over one of the guards, grunting as he fell back against the wooden wall. Yugi rubbed the back of his head and quickly scrambled to his feet, about to turn and run when a hand rested on his arm, getting a tight grip so he couldn't move. He turned to glare at the man, struggling and kicking out, only to be lifted from the ground. Yugi suddenly hated his small size again, hating feeling weak and useless. He twisted, trying to bite the man's arm only to have the servant's other arm press against his stomach. Yugi wheezed, stopping for a moment and that was enough for the servant to secure a better hold on him.

"What do we do with this one?"

"Take him to the others."

"But it's that doctor's friend."

"Another hostage to keep the secret." The other servant smile slowly. "Another meal for the wolf."

The two nodded, one leaning down to collect the guard's weapons while the other kept a hold of Yugi, the young man struggling as he was nearly carried down the hall. A hand was placed over his mouth, Yugi snarling against the monk's skin as he tried to get free, pausing for a moment as he heard voices. The monk was confident enough to take him past the dinning room; a foolish move. Yugi smiled to himself, jerking his head away from the monk's hold to call out for the Pharaoh or anyone that was there. He never got the chance to speak, the monk's hand dropping over his mouth again as he was hauled away from the dining room, taken down a dark hallway behind the room.

Yugi's mouth was released, the monk using that hand to fumble for the door while Yugi struggled to get free, grunting when he was hit. The monk gave no retort, but just shoved him into the room. Yugi yelped as he fell to the ground, already trying to pick himself up and run. He didn't get too far before the monk caught him, the young man turning to kick at the monk, only to find that the monk had clamped shackles around his wrists. The two glared at each other for a while before the monk forced Yugi to the ground, hitting him again. "It would be best if you remained silent."

"Trai-" Yugi was hit again before he could get the word out, watching as the monk walked through the room before glaring at the door, staring at the wood for a moment before turning to look at the room he was in, all thoughts of escape disappearing as he looked at the stone walls. Yugi shifted on the straw covered floor, looking at the other people that he was chained with, wondering at some of their clothes before inching closer to a well dressed woman, about to speak to her when she shook her head, gesturing with her shackled hands in the direction of some deeper shadows, Yugi noticing the ramp and the doors open to the sky before he noticed the cage.

He blinked and shifted forward, ignoring the frantic hands that tugged on his shirt, obviously urging him to get back. Yugi glanced back at the lady and shook his head, edging forward again. There was something in that cage, something that looked human. If he could just talk to it, maybe help it escape, then he would be able to get the human to help them free the others in the cellar. Yugi was willing to bet that these people were the missing staff of Sir Robert, and that was one mystery solved. They were probably down here so that those other people, whoever they were, could completely control the situation; whether it was to be a hostage situation or something else, it didn't matter. If they could all get out, then it was more support on their side, more than enough to take down the scant number of bald men. Queen Victoria's guard would help them with the rest.

Yugi cleared his throat nervously, watching the hooded person in the cage raise his head slightly, the move not enough to bring their face out of the shadows. Yugi hesitated before deciding to speak anyway, not glancing back at the others that he was chained with. "Excuse me, I was wondering if I could help you; free you from that cage and help you get home."

The person inside the cage laughed, Yugi shivering at the sound before determining that the person inside of the cage was a man. "Ah, so one will speak to me." The hooded head shook slowly. "But I doubt that you could return me to my home; it is so far away, beyond you small comprehension"

"I have a friend who could help." Yugi gave a smile before taking a step closer, reaching the end of his chain. He glanced behind him, watching as the other captives stared at him with a look of shock on their faces. He gave them an encouraging smile before turning to look back at the man. "It doesn't matter how far; we could probably get you there."

"None of your kind could return me to my home; it is miles away in the stars, so far away now. I content myself with the body of a boy from ten miles away from this place." The man laughed for a moment. "I do not want to go home anyway; there are better prospects for me here. Here, I can begin the empire of the wolf."

"What?"

"The human does not comprehend? I thought not. There are some things that go beyond their tiny minds." The man shifted forward, one sickly pale hand reaching out to grasp a bar. "I will take the leader of this land and steal her throne. I will lead the humans of this place to war and glory. This island will be the first to ring with the howls of the wolf. It is only then that I will be content; I was promised this."

"By who? Those men?"

"Eventually yes. But my own people spoke of my destiny. I heeded its call and came to this place. I have been patient and now my time has come. You cannot stop me human."

"But you don't need to do this!"

"Destiny cannot be denied."

"Destiny isn't always right!" Yugi shivered as the man gave a laugh, watching as he shook his head, the hood slipping back a bit. Yugi saw a flash of white as the man smiled, shifting to a more comfortable position. The young man swallowed nervously before leaning forward. "Wouldn't it be better to decide your own life?"

"But I like this destiny; I like the joy of the hunt it will give me. I like the idea of this world ringing with the howls of the wolf. No one can stop this change. Even the ones who turned their eyes to an invisible sky god saw my greatness and decided to come with me. I will raise them up as my friends, for they have helped me."

Yugi stared at the man before shaking his head slowly, trying to hide his fear. "Then I will stop you."

"You?" The man laughed, the sound pausing as the man seemed to perk up. Yugi flinched at the sound of the man drawing in a deep breath through his noise before exhaling, the process repeating a few more times before the man lurched forward. Yugi took a stumbling step back, his mouth dropping open in shock as he man pressed his face up to the bars, revealing completely black eyes. The man gave another cackle before reaching through the bars to point at Yugi. "I see you there, King, I recognize you. I know your scent as it is thrown across the galaxy, but you are not him yet. I know you for your words and your tricks and say your title is well earned."

"I-I don't know what you are talking about."

The man ignored him, continuing to cackle. "You don't recognize your own name, silly King. But I know your titles, the galaxy rings with them. I see you, Dark Game."

Yugi's eyes widened, his hands trembling as a memory washed over him, not even sure that it was his. _"I am the Dark Game. I create myself."_ He shivered and shook his head, taking a step back. "No."

"Yes. I have heard of you, heard of those who have seen your wrath, King. They say you burnt like the sun."

Yugi fell to his knees, clutching at his head as a swirl of sensations overwhelmed him. Words were thrown at him out of order, images that didn't make sense and over that the harsh burn of soft golden light; a golden light that sang to him a song that felt familiar. Yugi went to scream, finding that he could not, instead falling forward, and barely catching himself on his hands as he panted for breath. The golden light that had pulsed in the back of his mind intensified for a moment before subsiding, Yugi not sure if he actually screamed or not before coming back to himself, listening as the man finished his awkward rendition of a wolf's howl. The man laughed again, shaking his head. "What a wonderful song you have, King, and what an honor that I got to sing counterpart."

"What do you mean?" Yugi's arms trembled as he pushed himself back up, watching as the man settled back again, glancing up at the sky. Yugi coughed, his throat suddenly raw, one hand reaching up to rub at it as he leaned forward, his eyes widening as he saw the moon rising. The light crept down through the open cellar doors, his attention going back to the man as he sighed, a hand reaching for the cowl that hid his face.

"They say you burnt like the sun, King, but all I require is the moon." The cowl was pulled back from the man's head. Yugi gasping as the man suddenly convulsed in the moonlight, hesitating a moment before turning to look back at the shocked people behind him.

"Don't look at it, just pull." He strained at the chains, staring at the point where they all connected to the wall. He glanced back at the others, not surprised to see them staring at the man. Yugi could hear the pop of joints and the screams as the man transformed, forcing himself not to think about that or the strange message that the man had given him. His one focus would be on escaping from this place alive and finding the Pharaoh. "Pull!"

* * *

 _Please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome._


	9. The Empire of the Wolf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Chapter Eight: The Empire of the Wolf**

**Chapter Eight: The Empire of the Wolf**

" _And that's the charm of a ghost story, isn't it? Not the scares and chills, that's just for children, but the hope of some contact with the great beyond. We all want some message from that place. It's the Creator's greatest mystery that we're allowed no such consolation. The dead stay silent. And we must wait._ _"_

-Queen Victoria

The Pharaoh set aside his utensils, giving a brief glance to where Yugi would have sat before turning his attention back to Queen Victoria, watching as the British monarch finished wiping her mouth. Her gaze turned to him before moving towards the empty seat. "Your friend did not join us."

"Perhaps he is tired from the traveling." The Pharaoh reached out to take a careful sip of his wine, calculating the amount he could drink safely while not insulting his host. "We have been moving at a fast pace for many days and I do not blame him. He'll come around by morning, probably embarrassed at missing this opportunity to speak with such a distinguished woman as yourself."

That seemed to mollify the queen, the Pharaoh giving Yugi's empty chair one final glance before forcing himself to look away. It wasn't like Yugi to miss something like this; he expected Yugi to be late, the old manor confusing with so little staff to help, but not to skip out entirely; unless his companion had found out something useful and had lost track of time. The Pharaoh wouldn't put that past Yugi either, but something still felt wrong. He was tempted to go after Yugi but forced himself to stay, there was still information to be gotten here.

"Come Sir Robert," the Pharaoh looked up at the queen as she spoke, "night has fallen and the moon is full, it's the perfect time for that tale of your famous wolf. Nights like these are meant to frighten and scare."

Sir Robert blushed and looked down at the table, gripping the edge so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. "I am ashamed that all I can offer you is a ghost story, your majesty. I was hoping that I could give more…"

"Nonsense, a good scare keeps us feeling young. It keeps us hoping that there is something after death." The Pharaoh looked up at the wistful tone of the voice that Queen Victoria had taken. "Hoping that there is someone to contact those we love, or they will remain silent and we will have to carry on with our grief still heavy."

The Pharaoh nodded slowly, stopping the motion to clear his throat, forcing the tears away from his eyes. "You must miss your husband very much."

"I…I do indeed, completely. But there are times when it is better, when it doesn't hurt as badly." The queen shifted in her seat, looking up at him and seeming to see him for the first time. "But you look like one who understands my pain, Doctor MacDonald and I hope that there will be a time when it will ease. For now though, carry on with your story, Sir Robert, it will help us heal."

The Scottish knight stared at the both of them before lowering his head, seeming to be picking out his words carefully. "It's just an old wives tale, a way to explain why sheep are found torn to pieces, some parts of them eaten; but such things happen. Still, for three hundred years this estate has been tormented by a beast that enjoys just that. If that was not enough, once a generation a young boy goes missing. I have organized the hunts for these boys myself and found nothing; their trail just ends."

"Strange enough." The Pharaoh nodded, watching as Sir Robert took a fortifying sip of wine. "But how do you know that the disappearance and the sheep are connected?"

"The ravaging of our flocks grew worse at the start of those three hundred years, just as the boys started disappearing." Sir Robert shivered before continuing on. "And, in that time, there have been stories of a wolf, a large wolf who could walk on two legs like a person and had such ferocity that the other wolves left for safer hunting grounds. Since that first moment three hundred years ago, we have not seen hide nor hair of another wolf other than glimpses of the great wolf, and no one has gotten close and lived. Some people say that, because we cannot find it, it must be human as well, a man caught under the spell of the moon."

"A werewolf?"

Sir Robert nodded, glancing at his butler who stood by the window before leaning forward. The Pharaoh spared the servant a glance, frowning when he noticed that the butler was paying more attention to the rising moon than to his master. He focused on Sir Robert as the man began to speak in a whisper. "My father was obsessed with the tales of this wolf and he tried to make sense of them. I did not believe until now, but recent evens have made it easier. Local lore says that the wolf shelters itself in the Glen of Saint Catherine, where there is a monastery. The Brethren there had always been kind souls until one day…three hundred years ago, when they started to turn people away. My father always wanted to know what had happened and speculated that they had turned away from God to worship this wolf, they cared for it and helped it with its dark deeds."

The Pharaoh gave another glance to the butler, staring at the full moon himself before catching the chant that the man was repeating under his breath, the Time Lord trying to appear that he was still listening to Sir Robert. "Lupus magnus est. Lupus fortis est. Lupus deus est"

He froze at the last part, staring at the tablecloth before leaning forward as well, the move drawing the attention of the three other people at the table. "And I propose something else. What if they were here now?"

There was an almost unperceivable nod from Sir Robert, a pained look crossing his face as he glanced over at Queen Victoria. "Did you not think it odd that all my servants looked like monks?"

Silence fell over the three of them, the butler still chanting by the window. The Pharaoh took a deep breath before looking over at Sir Robert, sliding his chair back before standing up and walking over to the man, watching the butler's eyes flick over to where he was standing. The Pharaoh hesitated for a moment before speaking the first thing that came to mind. "Where is Yugi?"

The butler smiled, pausing in his chant for a moment before beginning again. "Lupus _magnus_ est. Lupus _fortis_ est. Lupus _deus_ est."

He froze at the implied threat in those words, taking a breath to calm himself before realizing that it didn't matter. Yugi was in danger, and he had just calmly sat by, assuming that Yugi could handle himself. The Pharaoh turned with a snarl, more for himself than the unhelpful butler, fishing around in his coat for the sonic screwdriver as he prepared to storm from the room, stopping when Sir Robert leapt up, grabbing his arm. "I urged you to leave before this."

"I recognize my mistake. And now I'm going to look after my friend."

"But you can't leave your queen!"

The Pharaoh looked back at Queen Victoria watching the woman walk over to the butler; her hand resting calmly in her purse even has her body shook. The Time Lord shook his head, taking a step from the room and nearly dragging Sir Robert with him. "She is a fine lady and a noble queen, but she is not _my_ queen."

Before the man could protest, the Pharaoh took off at a run, pausing a moment to turning away from the direction that he had come from. There was a chance that Yugi actually was still in the upper levels of the house, but instinct told him that he was wrong, and he had learned to trust his instincts. The Pharaoh took off at a run, starting at a gunshot from the dining room. He fought the urge to look over his shoulder, continuing to run through the halls before turning to look at Sir Robert, noticing the man looked frightened. "Where would they take them?"

Sir Robert stared at him for a moment before nodding slowly, not speaking but dashing down the hall. The Pharaoh followed after, wincing as he strayed too close to one of the corners, reaching up to rub his shoulder as they continued to sprint down the hall. The dim lighting gave no clue to where they were heading, the Pharaoh just barely able to make out where Sir Robert was, the knight's black jacket blending him into the deep shadows that were in the hallway. The Pharaoh almost ran into his host as Sir Robert came to a stop at the door, the Pharaoh about to speak when he heard screams, fumbling for the sonic screwdriver before pulling it out and unlocking the door.

He charged into the room, his focus on the group of people that was chained to the wall. He glanced at Sir Robert before moving over to where the chains were attached to the wall, aiming the sonic screwdriver at that point before using it to cut through one link of the chain. He glanced up at Sir Robert, indicating that he should lead them out, freezing at the howl that echoed in the room. The Pharaoh turned slowly to look at what had made that sound, his mouth falling open in awe as he stared at the werewolf that was picking itself up from the debris of its smashed cage. He couldn't help the smile that crossed his face, jumping as something tugged at his sleeve. The Pharaoh glanced down to see a frightened Yugi, giving the werewolf one last glance before ushering his companion out of them cellar, locking the door behind him before turning to unlock the shackles that were around Yugi's wrists.

The Pharaoh moved through the crowd of people, assuming that they were the normal staff here, aware that Yugi was following him. Whenever he looked back at the human, Yugi seemed to be in a kind of daze, the Pharaoh not sure what to make of it. He refrained from asking questions, wanting to get all of the residents of the manor to safety before the werewolf burst through the door; the creature was dangerous and the Pharaoh wasn't sure what it was after. And, worst of all, it had allies within the house itself, presumably allies who knew how to control the wolf and he would lose precious time trying to figure out that secret. He sighed as he undid the shackles of a beautiful young woman, watching as she ran to Sir Robert and hugged him, leaning back against the nearest wall as Yugi walked over to him.

His companion still looked frightened, but the Pharaoh wasn't too sure that it was because of the werewolf. Yugi had faced more frightening things before and withstood them, but he had never come out as shaken as this. The Pharaoh turned to draw Yugi close, frowning when the human clung to him and shivered, too used to Yugi avoiding any unnecessary contact. He rubbed a hand up and down Yugi's back, watching as the residents of the manor quickly got themselves ready for battle, a few rushing to a wardrobe and pulling guns out of it, the Pharaoh raising an eyebrow at that. Apparently, it was a good hiding space because no one had looked there. He shrugged and pushed away from the wall, feeling Yugi let go of him.

The men lined up in the hallway with the guns, the women scurrying off to a safe place, the Pharaoh watching them go and wondering if they would be able to get past the monks. His attention was pulled back to the door, pushing Yugi further behind the line of men as the door was shattered, the werewolf stepping into the hallway. Almost immediately, the men began to open fire on the werewolf, the creature yelping in pain before moving back into the shadows, Sir Robert calling an end to the barrage before turning to look back at the Pharaoh. "It seems my father was right."

"Then what else do we have to worry about…" The Pharaoh glance at where the werewolf had disappeared, staring at the shadows. "We have to get the monks out of here, they will help the wolf in any way they can. In the meantime, it would be best if we found a safe place to hole up until then."

The steward of the manor scoffed, glancing over his shoulder at the Pharaoh. "Nothing could have survived that much lead being put into it. The wolf is gone and you don't have to worry about it any longer."

"And I'm telling you it's not." The Pharaoh glared at the man before looking at Sir Robert again, seeing the Scottish knight thinking over the choices. The Time Lord sighed. "We need to find Her Majesty, no matter what."

"You said that she was not your queen."

"I did, but that does not mean that I am prepared to leave her behind." The Pharaoh leveled a glare at him before turning around, stopping as the steward laughed again.

"I'll prove it to you." The man dropped his gun and walked forward, stepping into the shadows before turning around with a smile on his face. "See, the creature is-ARGH!"

The Pharaoh jumped backwards as the creature reached down from its perch on the rafters, pulling the steward up. There was the sound of tearing flesh, the steward still screaming as he was devoured. The Pharaoh grabbed onto Yugi, ducking as an arm was thrown towards them, the creature letting the mutilated body of the steward fall to the ground before it followed, staring at all of them with an even glare. The Pharaoh got a tighter hold on Yugi's hand before turning away, breaking into a run as he dashed back down the corridor. He heard Sir Robert following them, the man's footsteps nearly drowned out by the sound of gunshots and screaming as the werewolf tore through the men that had stayed behind.

The three raced through the house, the Pharaoh pushing Yugi out of the way as Queen Victoria walked calmly from a room, still shutting her purse. They took the chance to pause and catch their breath, Sir Robert addressing the queen. "Your Majesty, are you alright?"

"Of course. That horrid man in the dining room has been dispatched."

"Then let's focus on getting out of here." The Pharaoh turned to look around them, smiling as he spotted a window, walking over to it and carefully opening it. "We'll have to climb out this way, your majesty; they'll be guarding all the other exits."

"Then I will go first." Sir Robert walked to the window, sliding one leg over the sill. He was halfway out when the sounds of guns echoed in the silence of the night, Sir Robert falling to the floor. The Pharaoh glanced at their host, relieved that the man wasn't harmed, just shocked. He ducked the next minute as a bullet came sailing in the window, crawling forward before looking out the open window, watching as two monks with wreaths of greenery around their necks fumbled with the guns as they reloaded. The Pharaoh frowned before retreating, looking back at the way that they had run. The werewolf would be coming after them at any time, as soon as it finished with the men.

"We'll have to run and take shelter elsewhere then, at least until we find a way to get past the monks or the werewolf." The Pharaoh grabbed Yugi's hand and rushed for the stairs, his companion strangely silent as they climbed the wooden stairs, the Pharaoh shivering as he heard a howl echo through the house. The werewolf had finished with its meal, and now it would be coming for them. What they needed was a room with strong walls, few entrances and next to no windows. They could stay there for a while until the werewolf had transformed back into a human, but that still left the monks. After so much planning to have this scheme go right, the Pharaoh doubted that the monks would let them live until morning.

He pulled Yugi off the stairs and raced down another hallway, smiling as Yugi seemed to break free of whatever shock had kept him quiet, moving to keep pace with the Pharaoh as they rushed forward. He turned to smile at his companion, noticing that Yugi had paled before looking forward, stumbling to a stop as he stared at the creature that was coming around the corner. He had miscalculated.

The werewolf hadn't been behind them, it had managed to get in front of them. And it was doubtful that they could outrun the werewolf at this short distance. The Pharaoh swallowed nervously and pushed Yugi behind him, beginning to back down the hallway again. The wolf crept forward after them, panting heavily from its run, but completely focused on them; so focused that it missed the door to one side opening and Captain Reynolds stepping out.

The captain aimed and shot at the werewolf, the creature yelping and slinking back, retreating around the corner. Reynolds looked back over his shoulder briefly before turning his attention back to the corner. "Everything alright, ma'am?"

Queen Victoria nodded, clearing her throat. "I am fine."

"I went to check to see if it was still there, ma'am, but someone had taken it."

"I have it, Captain."

"That's good. I'll hold this beast off while you get to safety." Reynolds moved from his position, taking a step forward before, jerking his head to the side. "That room should keep you safe from the wolf; I've looked over it myself."

"Thank you."

"It's my duty, ma'am, for queen and country." Reynolds gave a shaky smile before looking at Sir Robert, his smile disappearing quickly. "And you, MacLeish, are a traitor to the crown."

Before the Pharaoh could speak, the captain had run off around the corner with a shout, the Time Lord wincing before turning to see that everyone was heading into the room, Sir Roberts escorting Queen Victoria through the door. He nodded, reaching out to give Yugi a little push, his companion shaking. "Pharaoh?"

"Come on, Yugi." He nearly carried Yugi through the door, worried about the shivers that his companion couldn't seem to stop. He frowned, gently placing Yugi near a large desk in the room before turning back to the door, about to shut it when he heard the howl of the werewolf, following by a scream. He pulled back on the door, hearing the click of claws on wood. He managed to get the door shut, hearing the werewolf slam into the door before snarling. The Pharaoh let go of the handle, pulling a bench over and beginning to pile things on top, accepting the various items that were handed to him. When he was sure that it would hold, the Pharaoh took a step back. "Is this the only door?"

Sir Robert went to nod, only to turn suddenly and drag a suit of armor to stand in front of a tapestry, shoving the tapestry aside to bar the door with a spear. The Scottish knight then nodded, the Pharaoh returning the motion before carefully climbing up on the pile of furniture, resting his ear against the door. He heard sniffing from the hallway outside, frowning as the pattern of steps seemed to be off. Maybe the werewolf was injured or unable to move freely in the cramped hallways of the manor; it was a large creature. In any case, it didn't seem interested in attacking the door again.

With a relieved sigh, the Pharaoh climbed down from the pile, walking back over to where his companion shivered against the desk. "Yugi?"

Yugi looked up at him, a smile crossing his face. The shivering stopped a moment later, the human seeming to get a hold of himself. "I'm fine." He gave a nervous chuckle before shrugging. "So, werewolf…"

The Pharaoh smiled before pulling Yugi into a hug, noticing that the human was clinging to him again. He ran a hand down Yugi's back, squeezing him tightly for a moment before pulling away a bit. "Are you alright?"

Yugi was about to answer when Queen Victoria spoke up, the two of them breaking apart quickly at the stern tone of voice that the monarch used. The Pharaoh turned to look at her, watching Yugi shrink back out of the corner of his eye. "Do you think this is funny? That this is a game?"

"No. I see it as a matter of life or death."

"You do not treat it as such." Queen Victoria leveled a glare at him, the Pharaoh meeting it steadily. He had stood before other species that had frightened him more, he had faced the council of the Time Lords many times as well; compared to them, the wrath of a human queen was nothing. "You laugh and speak as if this is normal. How can the deaths of so many loyal people be considered normal? What a sad life you must lead if this is how you behave."

"Your majesty-"

"One more thing before I leave you to think. You came to me with a lie; I know it now because your accent has disappeared. If you can fake an accent, I'm not sure if I can trust you with anything else. My thanks I will give to you for saving me, but for nothing else. I'm not even sure that you are not against me." Queen Victoria gave him a steady glare. "You are not of my world."

"And you are not of mine." Silence fell between them, the Pharaoh watching as Sir Robert edging closer to the queen, showing his alliance with that move. The Time Lord didn't blame him, it was easier to side with the familiar, and Queen Victoria still looked strong. He didn't doubt that, with the right equipment, Queen Victoria could have defeated the werewolf herself. But she didn't, she only had him and she had made it very clear that she only tolerated his presence because he could work out the answers that she needed.

He held his tongue, turning to look at the large shelf of books that made up one wall, leaning against the desk as he thought. He turned his head as Yugi sidled up to him, copying his posture. "So, what do we do now?"

"For now, we use our position to our advantage. The werewolf can't get us here nor can the monks, which leaves us the time to figure out how to stop them." The Pharaoh gestured at the bookcase, pushing away from the desk and walking over to the shelf, running a finger over the spines of the books. "We have enough here to work out about the werewolf and the monks, defeating them follows after. And then, we see what the queen will have to say to us."

Yugi walked around the desk, skimming over the titles before reaching for one, a smile crossing his face. "The pen is mightier than the sword, right?"

"Right." The Pharaoh had to stop himself from touching his companion, pretending to look for books. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I was-I'm alright now." He gave Yugi a sideways glance, but the human was already deep in his book, the Pharaoh shaking his head as he reached for another one for himself, watching Sir Robert out of the corner of his eye. He had no doubt that the Scottish knight would join them eventually; he would want to get out as much as they did. And Queen Victoria could not protest them escaping from this prison.

* * *

Isobel gathered the maids in the kitchen, sending them rushing for the corner to hide among the bags of spices yet to be put away, hoping that it would hide their smell for a moment. She wasn't sure of how long they had before the wolf came in after them, but she would try to get them to safety. Her husband had told her to run for the villages, sending the girls out to gather as much help as they could. An attack from the outside would be able to round up the despicable monks and overpower the werewolf. In the meantime, she just hoped that Robert would remain safe from harm.

She gathered her courage, looking at the group of frightened girls before walking towards the back door of the kitchen, bending slightly to remain hidden from view through the window, glancing back at the entryway to the kitchen before peeking over the window sill, her heart pounding. There were armed monks out there, block their escape. As much as she wished, she and the girls would not be able to outrun men or bullets in their skirts, and they were too few to take the risk. Isobel slumped, freezing as she heard the sound of something large moving towards the kitchen.

She edged along the wall, sliding into an open spot in the gathering of girls, taking deep breaths of the spice perfumed air to calm herself down. She knew that some creatures could smell fear, but she wondered if that applied to some unholy combination between man and beast. But it was acting more like a beast than a man at the moment, she couldn't doubt that. Isobel took another deep breath before wrapping her arms around the two closest maids, hugging them close; the others pressing closer in the dim hope that the motion would protect them from the wolf.

They all froze as the wolf peered through the entry to the kitchen, actually stepping into the room and taking a long sniff, its head turning as it scanned the room. Isobel's heart pounded faster at it turned to look at them; sure that it had seen them. She hadn't had the time to get them well hidden, and it was her fault that they would die. Robert would be waiting for reinforcements that would never come. She bit her lip, watching as the wolf took another step into the room before stopping, taking a deep breath before growling and leaving the room.

Isobel stared after the creature, getting to her feet a few moments later before walking over to the long table that was between them and the door, staring at the pieces of plant that was strewn all over the table. She carefully picked up a leaf, looking between the door and the leaf that she held in her hand before shaking her head. "Who brought this mistletoe into the kitchen?"

All of the maids shook their heads, the one that was closest to the window gasping and pointing outside. "My lady, the monks are wearing it as well!"

Isobel looked out the window, seeing that the monks had wreathes of mistletoe around their necks, a strange thing to do unless it had a purpose. And there was no other explanation for the wolf leaving them alone, not after he had seen them. She returned her gaze to the leaf in her hand, turning it before coming to a decision. Since they could not run for help, they would fight. She did not know where the other men were or where he husband was, so she just had to act like they were on their own. Isobel took a deep breath before looking at her maids, smiling to calm the frightened girls. "Alright, gather every scrap of mistletoe that you can get, we'll need it. Flora, put a kettle of water on the stove and get it boiling, the rest of you, set some of the mistletoe aside for any charms that we may need to make ourselves."

"My lady."

"This is my house and I will not let that creature run amok in it. We will fight." Isobel looked over her maids, not expecting the sudden smiles that lit up their faces as they turned to go back to work. Isobel smiled to herself before fixing her skirts, bending down to help the girls gather up the scraps of the plant, praying the entire time that Robert was safe.

* * *

Yugi glanced up at the Pharaoh moved past him, watching the Time Lord pace as he looked through the book in his hands. Yugi found himself following the motion, frowning as he suddenly noticed the carving on the back of the door that they had come in through. He had been too busy searching through the books to notice anything else about the room other than the large desk that he leaned against. Yugi cleared his throat, the Pharaoh stopping his movement to look at his companion. Yugi marked his place in the book before pointing at the design on the door. "Pharaoh, what plant is that?"

The Time Lord spun around, dropping his book on the bench before clambering up the pile of stuff that blocked the door to stare at the carving, running his fingers over it. "It's mistletoe."

"It's on the other door too." Sir Robert sounded distracted, the Scottish knight leafing quickly through another book. "My father had it put on a few of the doors, the library, my parents rooms, my room; all the important rooms of the house."

Yugi walked closer to the doors, the Pharaoh staring at his fingers as he rubbed them together. The Time Lord hummed in thought, placing his hand back against the door again and running his fingers over the wood. "But why only a carving…unless it's not only a carving." The fingers were drawn away from the door, the Pharaoh staring at them again. "There's something rubbed into the wood itself, something that feels different…" He licked the tip of one of his fingers, making a face before shaking his head. "Thought so. It's not just varnish, it's a varnish of _viscum album_."

Yugi rolled his eyes. "And for those of us who do not know anything?"

"Oil of mistletoe." The Pharaoh hopped down from the pile, picking up his book again and quickly skimming through it, giving a short cry of victory before rushing over to place the book on the table. "Here's something."

Yugi looked at the illustration, staring at what looked like a shooting star over an old building, jumping as Sir Robert read the caption. "'In the year of our Lord 1540, a great light did burn in the sky before falling in the Glen of Saint Catherine.' Saint Catherine? Where Father Angelo and his monks are from?"

"That makes sense." Yugi stared at the picture for a moment longer, glancing up at the Pharaoh as the Time Lord glared at the desk. "You said yourself that your father speculated that the monks had turned from god to worship the wolf."

"But that still doesn't explain the mistletoe." Yugi pointed at the door, waiting for the Pharaoh to raise his head before continuing. "I thought the way to kill werewolves was through silver bullets."

"Well, silver is rare." The Pharaoh shrugged, tensing a moment later as he turned to stare at Yugi again, the human a little uncomfortable by the fixed stare. "And that's the reason for the mistletoe."

"What?"

"Yugi, think about it, the Church tends to use gold over silver because it's rarer and the metal of kings."

"Yeah, but silver is-"

"Silver is still expensive. It would take more than what a simple monastery could produce to be able to buy that much silver, and stealing silver items would be noticed very quickly in this type of community, so they needed something different."

"Mistletoe?" Yugi raised an eyebrow. "But it wouldn't have any effect on the wolf."

"Unless the monks _told_ it that it was allergic to it, a safety in case the wolf wanted to turn on them." He spun around to face Sir Robert. "You father must have found it out and planned for the occasion, the carving on the doors marks the safe areas from the wolf."

"But…" Sir Robert glanced back at the picture, tapping his finger against the page. "What about the burning star in the sky? That cannot just be coincidence."

"It isn't." The Pharaoh ran a hand through his hair when a groan, staring up at the ceiling. "What if the wolf was just a parasite? It needed something to life in to survive. You said that the monks stole children."

"The wolf said its current body was born ten miles from here!" Yugi jumped forward. "I spoke to it. It blatantly said that it had come from somewhere out of our reach!"

"So the wolf is an alien." The Pharaoh nodded slowly before shaking his head. "But that doesn't matter much now. What we need is a plan to defeat the wolf. Mistletoe will slow it down, but not kill it."

Yugi frowned and leaned against the desk, his gaze going to where Queen Victoria stood. He had forgotten about the queen in the excitement of the discovery, watching her carefully as she absorbed the information that they had just been spewing out. The monarch looked very shaken, Queen Victoria clearing her throat before motioning Sir Robert close to her, the other hand fumbling with her purse. Yugi glanced over at the Pharaoh, the Time Lord still thinking, before looking back at the queen, his mouth dropping open as she drew a large diamond from her purse. "If I am to die here, Sir Robert, I wish for this to stay out of their hands."

"Pharaoh." Yugi breathed the Time Lord's name out as he walked forward, staring at the diamond that shown in the moonlight that streamed in from the skylight. He heard the Time Lord gasp as well, the Pharaoh moving up to stand behind Sir Robert.

"The Koh-i-Noor." Queen Victoria looked surprised that the Pharaoh knew of the diamond, Yugi glaring at the Time Lord before the Pharaoh began to explain. "It's a diamond from India, one of the great treasures of the royal family. It used to be bigger, but Prince Albert kept cutting it down."

"Indeed. I was on my way to the royal jewelers to get it cut again, as Albert had asked of me, but I fear the curse of the diamond got to me first." She stared at the Pharaoh as he held out a hand in a silent request to hold it. Queen Victoria passed him the diamond reluctantly. "It is said that all of its owners are destined to die horrible deaths."

Yugi tipped his head, watching as the Pharaoh turned the diamond in his hand, the Time Lord carefully holding the diamond up to the light. "Why did Prince Albert keep cutting it?"

A fond smile crossed the queen's face. "He always said that the shine wasn't quite right."

"The shine?" Yugi shook his head, turning away to head back to the stack of books, stopping when he saw a patch of moonlight on the floor, a perfect circle. Yugi looked around, trying to figure out where it had come from before he traced the path up to the Koh-i-Noor that the Pharaoh still held, smiling before pointing to the ground. "It looks right to me, like a laser."

A smile crossed the Time Lord's face before he passed it to the queen. "That explains everything."

"What does?"

"We need to get up to the observatory and spring the trap." He smiled at Queen Victoria. "Your husband set this up for you, your majesty. Take that as his message from the afterlife. Now, all we need to do is-"

He was cut off by a creak from about, Yugi craning his neck back to see a dark shadow standing on the skylight. He blinked, catching an outline of grey fur around the shadow before he gasped, moving for the door and throwing things off the pile. "Time's up!"

The Pharaoh rushed over to help him, the two of them shoving away the bench as the glass under the werewolf gave, the beast coming crashing inside. Yugi threw himself at the door, shoving it open before rushing out, surprised to see that Sir Robert and Queen Victoria followed right after them. Less than a second later, the Pharaoh sprinted from the room, grabbing his hand and nearly pulling him along as Sir Robert led them at a run back to the observatory.

Behind them, they could hear the heavy panting of the wolf as it tried to catch them, impeded by the narrow hallways and sharp turns, Yugi wincing as he heard the creature skid into a wall. He looked ahead, watching as Sir Robert gestured for them to hurry up, hoping that they were close; the wolf was gaining on them.

He stumbled around a corner, pushing off from the wall on the other side, quickly outstripping the Pharaoh as he raced down the final hallway. He reached back for the Pharaoh, turning around when he couldn't reach the Time Lord, his eyes widening as he watched the wolf prepare to leap, his eyes moving to the shadows, watching as something emerged from them.

Yugi recognized the woman from the chain, watching as she threw a bucket of water at the werewolf, flinching as the creature howled in pain, staggering away and back down the hallway. He was shoved out of the way the next minute when Sir Robert rushed forward to hug the woman. The bucket bounced off the floor as the two embraced, Yugi glancing away and allowing them to have their moment. He looked over at the Pharaoh, the Time Lord giving him a smile before walking over, gently taking his hand. Yugi found himself leaning on the Pharaoh, watching as Sir Robert gave his wife a last kiss. "Take the maids back downstairs, see if you can find any of the guards that are still alive. It's up to you to take care of those monks."

The woman nodded before gathering her group of girls and disappearing into the shadows again, Yugi assuming that there was a servant's stair case there. He turned to look at the Pharaoh, walking quickly after the Time Lord as the Pharaoh moved towards the doors of the observatory, the Time Lord looking on either side of the door before sighing and shaking his head. "This one wasn't marked, probably because your father wanted the wolf to get in."

Sir Robert glanced at the doors before nodding solemnly. "I will give you your time."

"There isn't much, we just need to-"

"I will give you your time." Yugi shivered at the steady look that Sir Robert gave them, the Pharaoh frowning before giving Yugi a little push to go into the room. Yugi shook his head and stayed beside the Pharaoh, aware that they were wasting precious time here.

"You don't have to do this."

"I am a traitor to my country. I will be killed anyway." Sir Robert gave a long sigh, reaching over for one of the swords that hung in a decoration on the wall. "I want to at least do one last honorable thing before my death. Then my Isobel will not be tormented by what I had done."

"She'll be tormented with your death."

"I am a man of honor. If I do not have my honor, then what am I?" The Scottish knight stared at the Pharaoh for a second before nodding slowly. "I will get you your time. Save my queen."

The Pharaoh hesitated for a moment before nodding, walking back into the room and shutting the doors, leaning against the wood for a moment. Yugi reached out to rest a hand on the Pharaoh's shoulder, feeling a shiver run through the Time Lord before he had to dart out of the way, watching as the Pharaoh moved to the wheel that would aim the telescope at the sky. He took his place on one side, glancing at Yugi. The young man nodded and took his place on the other side, the two of them straining against the rusty wheel before getting it to move, the axle sticking in places and making them have to struggle to get it moving again. Yugi grunted with the effort, looking up at the Pharaoh. "I thought you said this didn't work."

"As a telescope, no. But all those mirrors are for something, they focus the light. The diamond is the last piece."

"Like a laser?"

The Pharaoh smiled. "Like a laser. Hold on."

Yugi gasped as the wheel nearly slipped out of his grasp, getting a better hold of the strut and leaning all of his weight on it to keep it in this one place. He opened one eye to look at the Pharaoh, watching the Time Lord and Queen Victoria have a whispered discussion, the Pharaoh glaring at the queen before he won, returning with the Koh-i-Noor. He stared at the bronze contraption for a moment before placing the diamond on the floor, glancing back at the door as he heard a howl. Yugi jumped, throwing all of his weight onto his strut and wincing at the screech of metal on metal as the wheel began to turn again, the Pharaoh helping him.

He tensed at the shout that came from the hall, hearing a yelp from the wolf before it gave a sound that reminded Yugi of a roar, the human looking up at the Pharaoh in shock. The Time Lord just bowed his head, closing his eyes and muttering something under his breath before glancing at Yugi. "Faster."

"Right." The word was nearly drowned out by the scream that came from the hall, Yugi looking over his shoulder with wide eyes. He swallowed before turning back to the task before him, looking at the end of the bronze mechanism and watching it inch into position, Yugi mentally urging it to go faster. Sir Robert had held the wolf off for as long as possible, it would only be a matter of moments before the wolf got in here.

As if his thoughts had summoned it, the doors flew open, splinters of wood pattering to the floor. Yugi ducked his head, shivering at the howl that the wolf gave. He half expected the wolf to return to taunting him, waiting for the sound of that menacing voice. He jumped when he heard the sound of something slotting into place, the Pharaoh giving a cheer before bounding over to the end of the mechanism, quickly turning the knob on the side and letting the mirrors reflect the moonlight. "Pharaoh, it said that it needed the moonlight!"

"You can still drown in water." The Pharaoh took a step back as the beam came in contact with the Koh-i-Noor, the light reaching the wolf and making it stagger back. It let out a howl, clawing at the air in front of it and barely missing Queen Victoria in the process. The wolf finally fell to all fours, panting like it had run too far too fast, looking up at them before shivering, the move seeming to strip away the fur that covered it, the grey hairs falling too the floor only to be disintegrated by the moonlight. Yugi expected for the wolf-like features to remain, but found himself staring at the human that he had first met.

The man whimpered, looking up at them with wide brown eyes before smiling softly, reaching out into the stream with a happy sigh. "Make the light brighter. Let me go."

Yugi looked back at the Pharaoh, watching as the Time Lord nodded slowly before turning the knob on the mechanism, the light from the moon getting brighter as the Koh-i-Noor focused it. Yugi saw the man tip back his head briefly before the light consumed him, glancing up as a white and silver wolf seemed to appear from the moonlight, lifting it's head and giving a parting howl before there was nothing left, the Pharaoh turning the knob to stop the flow of moonlight, leaving the room suddenly dark in its absence.

He felt his eyes adjusting to the darkness, surprised to see Queen Victoria staring at something on her wrist, the Pharaoh already approaching her. "Did it bite you?"

"No." Yugi thought that she answered too quickly, but there was also the excited tone of voice, the one he didn't think that the queen would use if she had been bitten. "It's just a scratch from one of the splinters."

The Pharaoh looked like he was going to press the queen further when they heard the sound of footsteps rushing towards them, Yugi peeking out into the hall, forcing himself not to look at the bloodied body on the floor. He felt the urge to vomit, forcing it back as he listening for the identity of the person, aware that the Pharaoh had positioned himself to protect Queen Victoria. Yugi nodded to himself, sucking in a deep breath as the running person spoke, his heart sinking.

"Robert! The monks have fled! I don't know why, but they suddenly just left. Maybe this accursed night it over." Isobel rounded the corner, a smile on her face. "Robert, I-" She noticed the body on the floor and screamed, falling to her knees beside it as the screams turned into sobs. "Robert!"

Yugi looked away, surprised when he saw the Pharaoh move past him, kneeling beside Isobel and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She glanced up at him before reaching out for Sir Robert's hand, ignoring the blood that coated it, clutching it close. Yugi carefully picked his way to the other side of the body and knelt down on the floor, watching Isobel mourn for her husband.

"Why did he do this?" She turned to the Pharaoh glaring at him. "Why did you let him?"

"He said…" Yugi flinched as Isobel turned to glare at him, looking down at the mutilated body before looking up at the woman again. "He said that he couldn't bear to live knowing that he was a traitor, that he hoped that he could do something in death that would save him that black mark."

"Of all the selfish-"

"He did it for you." The Pharaoh spoke softly, Isobel turning to look at him. "He didn't want that stain to rest on you for the rest of your life."

"You could have stopped him."

"I tried. Believe me, I tried, but there are some things that…" The Pharaoh shook his head with a long sigh. "I tried."

"It hurts."

"I know." Yugi was surprised that the Pharaoh agreed so quickly. Usually the Time Lord was more reluctant to speak about experiences that related to the Time War. "I know it hurts and it will hurt for a long time. The important thing is that you keep on moving."

"How can I?"

"You just do. And, one day, it'll start to get better. Trust me."

Isobel nodded, tears still running down her face. "I do, like Robert did. And I thank you for saving us."

The Pharaoh gave her a hesitant pat on the shoulder before standing up, Yugi copying him. A soft cough drew their attention back to Queen Victoria, the British monarch watching them impatiently. "If we could withdraw to the parlor for the time being, just to get away from the sight, I will have my men take care of Sir Robert. He will receive a hero's funeral."

Isobel stood as well, curtseying to Queen Victoria before walking away, Yugi stepping around the body to walk next to the Pharaoh, aware that the queen had remained behind for a moment. He looked over his shoulder to reach for the Pharaoh's hand, gently brushing his fingers over the back of the hand, not having the courage to reach out and grab it yet. Still, the soft touch caught the Time Lord's attention, Yugi giving him a gently smile. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I know you don't like to think about the Time War."

The Pharaoh shrugged, but looked down at the floor. "It won't go away in a day. I'm stuck with it."

"Yeah, but I'm still here."

He was pulled into a one armed hug, the Time Lord not saying anything else. Yugi looked up at his traveling companion, unable to gage what the Pharaoh was feeling, giving up after a moment and focusing on finding his way to the parlor. He heard the Pharaoh laugh before the Time Lord took the lead, grabbing onto Yugi's hand and pulling him along after, Yugi smiling. He glanced over his shoulder, sobering at the angry look that Queen Victoria sent them, reminding himself that someone had died. But he wasn't laughing in spite of them. He couldn't help it, he was just happy to be alive. When had that been a crime?

The Pharaoh steered him into the parlor, both of them bowing as the queen entered. She glanced over to at the two guards that were there before walking over to the mantel of the fireplace and pulling an old sword down. Yugi thought he saw a hint of rust on the blade, but paid it no attention as Queen Victoria motioned for a guard to draw up a chair, sitting down gracefully when the task was complete. She motioned them forward, Yugi looking worriedly at the Pharaoh before returning his gaze to the queen. "Kneel."

He followed the order, watching the Pharaoh do the same by his side. Yugi tried not to tremble, images of beheading filling his mind. He knew that the queen thought them to be strange and dangerous, therefore something to be despised, but he couldn't think of anything else that warranted his head being cut off. He tried to calm himself, surprised when Queen Victoria raised the sword, tapping it gently against the Pharaoh's shoulders. "I name thee Sir Pharaoh of TARDIS,"

Yugi briefly wondered why the Pharaoh hadn't told the queen the name of his planet, looking up at the queen as she gazed down at him. "And where do you call home?"

"Domino."

"Then I name thee Sir Yugi of Domino. Now rise." Yugi stood up, watching as Queen Victoria rested the point of the sword on the ground, staring at the both of them with an anger that didn't seem to find with the image of a knighting ceremony. In fact, Yugi had no idea why he had just been knighted. He glanced over at the Pharaoh, wanting to see if the Time Lord had answers. The alien looked just as confused as he did, but the Pharaoh hid it better, both of them waiting to hear was Queen Victoria had to say. "I have rewarded you accordingly for your bravery and service to the crown. And from this day forward, I banish you."

Yugi took a step back at those words, watching as the Pharaoh leaned forward slightly. "What?"

"You have done me a service and earned your reward, but I cannot forgive you for the actions you have taken. You may know how to defeat these creatures from other worlds, but I do not want your help, I do not want the ease of sending people to their deaths that you have grown used to. So, from this day on, I banish you from the British Empire. Find somewhere else to torment with your 'salvation', I will not have it here." The queen tapped the point of the sword against the ground. "Return to your world and take those who invade with you."

The Pharaoh stared at Queen Victoria for a moment longer before turning around and storming off, Yugi hesitating before doing the same, catching up with the Time Lord as he reached the courtyard outside. Yugi slithered through the door right before the Pharaoh slammed it shut, watching the Time Lord glare at the door before the Pharaoh shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat and walked off, Yugi rushing after him. "Pharaoh!"

"No. Let her do as she wishes."

"But, what if something happens?"

"Then I will come and save them, and she can watch and understand." Yugi swallowed at the menace in the Pharaoh's voice, running until he was beside the Pharaoh before slowing to a quick walk. The Pharaoh glanced over at him. "There will always be people like that, those stupid humans that do not understand that I can't save everyone every time."

"I understand."

"Of course you do! You're different." The Pharaoh turned his glare back to the road, Yugi reaching out to touch the Time Lord before drawing his hand away, letting it drop back to his side. He licked his lips, ready to speak again when he decided to let the subject drop. That had been the best way of dealing with things around the old Pharaoh, he wasn't quite sure about this new one, but he hoped that it would work. He raised his eyes from the worn path that they were on to look around at the landscape, surprised to find that sunrise was still a ways off.

They walked in silence back to the TARDIS, the way back seeming to be miles longer than the way to the estate. Yugi stayed back as the Pharaoh opened the TARDIS, following the Time Lord in and stepping to one side as the Pharaoh threw his coat onto the captain's chair, running a hand through his hair before looking over at Yugi. The human bit his lip before leaning back against the TARDIS console, absently staring at his wrist. "Do you think that she was bitten? Maybe that is why she wanted to get us out of there."

"Perhaps, and it would explain a few things about the royal family."

"Hm?"

"Victoria," Yugi noticed that he had dropped the title, "and her children all had hemophilia. It's a disease in the blood, but no one knows where it came from."

"Maybe from the wolf." The Pharaoh nodded, Yugi relieved to see a smile crossing his face again, glad to have gotten the Time Lord in a better mood. But then mention of the wolf brought back more memories, memories doused in gold and burning hot. Yugi shivered and wrapped his arms around himself, trying to will them away again. He didn't understand them nor did he know where they had come from; but they all seemed right.

"Yugi?" He looked up to see the Pharaoh looking at him in concern, Yugi trying to smile before shaking his head. The Pharaoh had been aware of what had happened, the sudden lack of memories from the times between when he had opened the heart of the TARDIS and when he had woken up with the Pharaoh bothering him.

"Do you remember what happened to me on the game station?" He saw the Pharaoh pale a bit at that, taking it as a sign that the Time Lord did know what had happened. "Because I-"

He was interrupted as the phone in his pocket rang, Yugi frowning before pulling out his cell phone, missing the relieved look on the Pharaoh's face as the Time Lord circled the console. He stared at the caller I.D. for a moment before raising the phone to his ear. "Joey?"

" _Hey bud. How have you been?"_

"Good and all over the place." Yugi smiled and leaned against the rail, pushing his worries out of his mind for now. "We're just leaving Scotland."

" _Land of the man skirts?"_

"I didn't actually see any of those." He turned to look at the Pharaoh, raising an eyebrow. "I feel like I've gotten ripped off."

" _Hey, don't complain too much."_

"Alright. So how have you been?"

There was silence on the other end of the line, Yugi standing up straight. _"That's why I'm calling Yug'. There's something strange going on here. Could you and the Pharaoh come and check it out?"_

"Sure. When are you?" Yugi motioned for the Pharaoh, the Time Lord stopping in his tracks and walking over, Yugi switching the cell phone to speaker so the Pharaoh could hear Joey as well.

" _It's April 29, 2007; around four in the afternoon."_

"On our way, Joey." The Pharaoh walked away, imputing the coordinates into the TARDIS before sending her off, Yugi smiling before leaning over the phone to yell over the noise the TARDIS was making. "See you soon, Joey."

" _I hope so. Make sure he gets it right this time."_

"Will do." Yugi laughed before handing up the phone, the problem of his missing memories coming back to mind for a moment before he shoved them away. He would deal with those later, Joey had sounded like he needed them there quickly.

* * *

Isobel watched as the queen prepared to return to her coach, absently fixing the black veil that was over her head. Between the two of them, and mostly through Queen Victoria, they had figured out the finer details of the funeral, something that Isobel was grateful for. She was still in shock over Robert's death, still faintly hoping to see him smiling and beckoning her into an alcove so they could steal a moment with each other. She heaved a sigh and straightened up, telling herself that she had to be strong. If she just took one day at a time, then she could do this; the end of the week seemed too far away but tomorrow was attainable.

"My apologies for leaving you like this, Lady Isobel. I know how heavy your grief is."

She tried to smile, not sure if it worked. "My thanks. But the country needs its queen. I can handle this on my own; you have done more than enough, your majesty."

Queen Victoria was silent for a moment, her gaze directed up towards the stars. Isobel didn't have to think hard to guess what she was thinking about. The queen was worried that more like the Pharaoh would come back; Isobel herself divided on the issue. She trusted the Pharaoh, the only one to really understand her grief over her dead husband; she had seen in it her eyes. The queen meant well, but she had become used to the grief and having to harden herself to face the public, but Isobel did not have to do that. At least the Pharaoh had the strength to show that grief, even though he had talked about it like it had happened long ago. And it was enough to make him wonder about what he lost. Even Queen Victoria had said that he had told her that he had no home when he was knighted.

"I can think of one more favor, Lady Isobel."

"Anything, your majesty."

"Allow me to do one more thing for you, to raise you even more above that stain on your reputation that those monks tried to give you."

"You are too kind, your majesty."

Queen Victoria didn't seem to hear stepping away from the carriage a smiling as she stared at the manor house. "Such a place of knowledge should not waste away and with the honor which with your husband conducted himself…I will make this a place of learning and defense, for the good of the empire. An institute will be founded here, to guard against the Pharaoh and his ilk. It will be called, the Torchwood Institute."

Isobel just nodded, bidding the queen a safe journey before returning to the Torchwood Manor.

 __

* * *

 _Please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome._


	10. School Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Chapter Nine: School Reunion**

**Chapter Nine: School Reunion**

" _And what of the Time Lords? I always thought of you as such a pompous race. Ancient, dusty senators, so frightened of change and chaos_ _"_

-Mr. Finch

Mrs. Chono glanced at the girl who was sitting outside her office, tsking as she knelt down to examine the girl's face. "Again?"

The girl nodded miserably, trying to hide her bruised face from Mrs. Chono, the teacher gently pushing her hand away. "You shouldn't let them do this to you, you know."

"They say that I shouldn't bother, that I'm not as smart as them." The girl blushed and looked away. "Imori doesn't think so, but I don't know about him."

"Oh, I don't know about him either." Mrs. Chono continued to examine the bruising, shaking her head before standing up. "Come on, I have stuff that will make you feel better in my office. We wouldn't want you missing science would we?"

"No." The girl brightened for a moment before straightening out her blue skirt and standing up, carefully picking up her bag. "I love science."

"So did I!" Mrs. Chono gave a bright smile before opening the door to her office. "It's part of the reason that I wanted to be a teacher, to help spread that love. But I found a better way. Now I make sure that all of our staff is helping the students, no matter what the cost. There is a reason for Domino's high scores, and that is hard work and patience."

The girl nodded, walking into the office and sitting down in one of the chairs that Mrs. Chono indicated. The woman walked behind her desk, making a show of rustling through her drawers. She peeked over the desk to look at the girl before going back to her search, deciding to break the silence. "So, I heard about your parents, my condolences."

"Oh…yes." The girl fiddled with the hem of her jacket, biting her lip. "This is my last week in school before I move in with my aunt and uncle. I'll miss it."

"And we'll miss you." Mrs. Chono paused for a moment, standing up behind her desk with a first aide kit held in her hand. "They haven't come up here, have they?"

"No. They're coming later tonight. They've been making preparations up at their house."

"So, you're alone?"

The girl perked up at that, looking suspicious. "Yes."

"Nothing wrong, I'm just worried about you. As I said, I care about all my students; they are how I will live on in the future." Mrs. Chono smiled before placing the kit on the desk, leaning towards the girl, a smile crossing her face. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

The girl shivered at the threatening tone of voice, stuttering out an apology before turning to run, gasping as something grabbed her ankles, turning around to see a bat-like creature wriggling out from under the desk, it's fangs showing at it continued to smile. The girl went to scream, a clawed hand covering her mouth. She managed to whimper before the bat creature tore into her throat and she fell to the floor, dead.

* * *

Yugi tugged at the bottom of the navy blue jacket, wondering why he had let the Pharaoh talk him into this, swallowing nervously and feeling the leather collar that was buckled around his neck, a gift from the Pharaoh. Apparently, it wasn't a high tech apparatus, it was just something that the Pharaoh had given him, Yugi feeling a strange fluttering in his stomach whenever he thought of that. He shook his head, glancing at the clock before continuing to move towards the cafeteria. He was hoping that he would find it deserted at this hour, but he would still have to move fast, part of his cover depended on him actually going to classes.

He reached onto the pocket of his blue pants, brushing his fingers over his cell phone before sneaking into the kitchen, ducking behind the shelves that were there. He pulled his cell phone out, pressing the speed dial numbers for Joey before pressing the phone to his ear, listening to it ring for a while before Joey finally answered. _"Hello."_

"Hey Joey." Yugi made sure to whisper, still sneaking through the shelves. "I'm in."

" _And the Pharaoh too?"_

"Him too, but we've got to make this quick. I have class in ten minutes."

" _Since when did that bother you?"_

"Since this is important, or so you say."

" _Alright, alright. I'm working on getting more information, but I keep on getting blocked by this Torchwood thing. I even tried to go through U.N.I.T and still nothing."_

"Well, what do you have?"

" _School records, courtesy of one pretty secretary who was very annoyed to lose her job."_ He could almost imagine Joey's smile on the other line. _"It didn't work out between us but we can still remain friends. Besides, someone has to look out for her."_

"You're her knight in shining armor, Joey."

" _Stop it, Yug', you're making me blush."_ There was the sound of keys clicking in the background before Joey took a deep breath. _"Alright, we have here that seven of the teaching staff are out with the flu and were replaced within hours; that's not counting the principal. They still haven't found him."_

"Have they looked in his closet?"

" _What?"_

"Never mind." Joey wouldn't get the joke. The mayor's dead body had been found in his closet once, it was a fair enough guess that the principal of Domino High School would be in the same condition. "What else?"

" _The entire kitchen staff had been replaced three months ago. And then there's the teacher that the Pharaoh is filling in for, the skiing accident. That's about it staff wise, although there have be reports of alien activity around this area, mostly on other forums. As I said, Torchwood is blocking me."_

"Can you find a way around it?"

" _I'm not a computer genius, Yug'! It took me this long to get this much."_

"Calm down, Joey. I understand." He leaned around a shelf, pausing when he heard voices talking in the background. He smiled to himself before speaking into the phone again. "Hey Joey, something seems to be up here, I'm off."

" _Alright, Yug', be careful. Your mother will kill me if you come back in pieces."_

"You could always blame the Pharaoh."

" _He'd talk himself out of it, the bastard."_ Yugi hung up to Joey's grumbling, shifting some of the boxes that held the food as quietly as he could, peeking through the hole that he had made to watch as three of the women pulled in a large barrel. The barrel itself was labeled to contain cooking oil, but Yugi had never seen oil come in a yellow barrel. He shifted closer to the hole that he had made, wondering why these women were moving so slowly with the barrel. If some spilled they could always wipe it up.

As if his thoughts had triggered it, one of the ladies stumbled, the vat tipping over onto her. Yugi watched, surprised by the yellow color of the oil and how thick it was, taking a moment to realize that the lady was screaming and smoking. His eyes widened as her helpers escorted her into a little room, Yugi frowning and debating whether to sneak closer or not. As he was dressed up in the old familiar uniform of the school, he thought that it was better to avoid getting caught. The Pharaoh needed someone with a little more freedom to move around, and Yugi was the only one who could do that. He shifted slightly, smiling when that move got him a better view of the small room that the women had gone into, settling himself down for a long wait; he would apologize to the Pharaoh about this later.

He jumped as there was an explosion from the room, ducking as he heard the others come rushing out, a little bit relieved that the injured woman's screaming had stopped. Yugi pressed himself up against the shelf, only peeking up again when he felt that he was safe, surprised to see that the women had disappeared, leaving Yugi confused. Why would they just leave one of their own behind? And what was with that explosion? He knew that oil was flammable, but not to the point where it caused spontaneous combustion. He shook his head, glancing down at his watch before letting out a muttered curse. He was supposed to be in class by now.

Yugi turned and ran from the cafeteria, hoping that no one would see him in this rush. He also hoped that none of his old friends or teachers, if there were any of the latter left, would recognize him either. He had warned the Pharaoh was it was dangerous to be posing as a student in a school that he had once attended, but the Pharaoh had been strangely dismissive about his worries. Yugi's hand strayed back up to the leather collar that the Pharaoh had put on him that morning, before shaking his head.

Either way, he just had to deal with his role as a spy. Hopefully, there would be a moment when he could speak to the Pharaoh, having a feeling that infiltrating the school at night would be in order, something that he did not look forward to. He had always thought schools were creepier at night. Yugi shook the thought away, wheeling suddenly and backtracking as he realized that he had automatically started going to one of his former classes, not wanting the embarrassment of barging into the wrong classroom. He jogged down the hallway, stopping by the door to the classroom and panting for breath, trying to calm himself and gather his wits.

Even if he was only going to be in this school for a few days, he wanted to at least make a good impression. He had been one of the losers in school once; he really didn't want to be regaled to that place again.

* * *

The Pharaoh walked into the room, waiting for the students to sit back down before nodding at them all. "Your old teacher, I'm afraid, managed to hurt himself skiing. Until he recovers, I will be your teacher. Now," the Pharaoh paced at the front of the classroom, aware of the stares that he was receiving, knowing that he didn't quiet look the part of a teacher, "we'll start with a-Nice of you to join us Mr..Ito"

Yugi bowed offering a quick, "Sorry, sensei," before scrambling to his seat, blushing the entire time. The class stared at Yugi before returning their attention to him. The Pharaoh looked them over for a minute before nodding. "As I said before that little interruption, I will be your teacher until your old one recovers. As the accident was rather unexpected, I was only given the outline of what you were working on I think a quiz is in order."

The Pharaoh expected groans of disappointment, not the open stares of excitement. It was something that he would have expected in the Academy on Gallifrey, not in Domino City, Japan. He hid his surprise, walking back around his desk and leaning on it, pretending to consult a paper. "How many bodies are in the Oort cloud?"

One hand shot up, the Pharaoh blinking in confusion before motioning for the student to answer. "About 0.1 to 2 trillion."

He nodded slowly, watching the teenager carefully and catching the look of awe on Yugi's face. The Pharaoh cleared his throat, watching the teenager who had answered his first question. "What is the formula for acceleration?"

The same kid raised his hand to answer, the Pharaoh looking around before gesturing him on. "A equals the change in velocity divided by the change in time."

"Alright. How would one travel faster than the speed of light?"

It was the same kid again, the Pharaoh glancing over the class and seeing Yugi give a helpless shrug before finally nodding at the teenager. "Assuming you have a way to combat inertia, enough fuel and an engine powerful enough to overcome the weight that your ship would eventually reach, you would have to accelerate to seven hundred million miles per hour, a feat that cannot be done."

The Pharaoh stared at the teenager as he sat back, fighting back the urge to correct him on that statement before shrugging and going back to his lesson plan, his mind wandering even as he moved through the material, listening to the others taking notes behind them. This sudden brilliance was something of merit to be talked about with Yugi and Joey. The blonde could dig stuff up from his network and the internet about the school, more than the Pharaoh and Yugi could; Yugi was shy and he had no patience for stupid humans. Joey was their best source of information about the community since he had taken Yugi away.

He mentally winced as he realized that it would mean staying with Junri for one more night. As much as he tolerated Yugi's mother, a strange bond forming between him now that he was more personable, he could do without her innuendos. Junri should have had more faith that he wouldn't jump into bed with the first alien he met; Yugi was an intelligent young man, more so than this school's standards could indentify. That was, unless he was being more obvious about his affections that he should have been, something that made him really want to wince. He had thought that he was being subtle without being as cold as he had previously.

The sound of the bell startled him from his thoughts, the Pharaoh glancing up at the clock and realizing how time had flown. He shrugged to himself before dismissing the students for lunch. Some scattered from the classroom while one pulled out a bento from their bags and began to eat in the classroom. The Pharaoh himself walked off, intending on heading for the roof and getting a bit of fresh air. It had been a while since he had to be confined in a place with so many humans, especially ones of that high intelligence level. Again, he was reminded of the Academy back on Gallifrey, shivering at the memory. It was only the friends that he had managed to make there that had made that time bearable, the Pharaoh smiling at the fond memory of Mana and… _him_.

He shook his head and started up the stairs that led to the roof, knowing that Yugi would join him soon enough. It would give him the time he needed to think anyway, memories from Gallifrey aside. At least they didn't hurt as much as they used to, which was a boon enough. Some of his memories from before the Time War had haunted him up to this point.

The Pharaoh pushed the doors to the roof open, walking across the space before leaning on the high fence that surrounded the roof, watching the teenagers below. There didn't seem to be anything different about this place, but the evidence that Joey had presented was too strange to ignore. He made the mental note to try and get past that institute that kept blocking Joey, the name slipping his mind at the moment. He sighed and rested a hand on the fence, tensing slightly when he heard the door to the roof open up, not bothering to turn as Yugi sauntered over to him, carefully balancing his lunch.

Yugi sat down on the ground, leaning against the fence and beginning to eat, pausing as he chewed, rolling the chopsticks around in his fingers with a thoughtful look on his face. The Pharaoh sat down beside his companion, Yugi immediately offering him a bite. "Tell me what you think."

He looked at Yugi before allowing the human to feed him, hoping that no one would be around to see the action. He also hoped that Yugi couldn't hear his hearts speed up, pulling away from his companion slightly faster than he should have, swallowing the morsel before making a face. "That tastes off."

"Really? I like it." Yugi continued to eat, the Pharaoh giving him time to do so. After all, Yugi was the one who had to gather the information from the students themselves and keep up with his classes for the amount of time that they were here. If anything, the plan depended on Yugi being able to stay in Domino High School. The Pharaoh shook his head, glancing back over at Yugi as the human finished his meal before sitting back, one hand rising to play with the black leather collar that the Pharaoh had given to him.

"Was there a reason you were late to my class?" The Pharaoh attempted to give him a stern look, Yugi just rolling his eyes.

"Snooping, on your orders." Yugi glare him a playful glare before leaning back. "I managed to call Joey and he told us the exact number of teachers who had been replaced, seven not counting yours and the fact that all of the lunch staff have been replaced too. And, something else funny, all the school meals are free."

"Free?"

"Yeah, if only that had that when I was a kid." Yugi shook his head. "Free but you have to eat them. They're one exception, a boy who had an allergic reaction to the stuff. They were talking about it in there."

Yugi placed his chopsticks down, staring at the Pharaoh for a moment before sighing. "Why don't they recognize me? I mean this hair is not too hard to ignore."

"I gave you a perception filter." The Pharaoh reached out to touch the collar, ignoring the shiver that Yugi gave and how close he was to the human. He swallowed, reining back his desire before continuing. "What they see now is a normal high schooler, completely unimportant."

"Wow, so I've been sneaking around here for nothing?" That got a smile out of the Pharaoh, the Time Lord reaching down to hold Yugi's hand.

"You've done a very good job, Yugi." He resisted the urge to kiss his companion then and there. "No, go on. You have class."

"Thanks for reminding me." Yugi stood up, shouldering his bag before walking back, the Pharaoh shaking his head before following after, intending to stop by the teacher's lounge and talk to the remain remaining teacher from before, giving Yugi a parting wave before starting in the opposite direction. He walked quickly, moving through the groups of students that were returning from lunch, slipping inside the safety of the teacher's lounge before being motioned over by an older man.

"So you're the new one."

"Yes."

The older man shook his head. "Don't expect to last too much longer in here. They ship you out quickly if you weren't hand picked. I'm just waiting for my excuse to come up, just like the one you are taking over."

"I was told he had a skiing accident."

"That's the thing; he had never skied in his life."

The Pharaoh felt a little unsettled by that, leaning back against the desk that was in the lounge. He glanced around the room, noticing that the other teachers were in a corner talking amongst themselves, realizing that they must have been the replacements. It was strange that they weren't even trying to talk to the others, just shooting him and the other teacher hostile looks. The Pharaoh returned with his own glare before looking back at the older man, noticing that he was nervously flipping a pencil in his fingers. "Actually, truth be told, I can't wait to get out of here. My students are getting smarter than be by the day. Today, one of them could give me the exact length of the walls around Troy, in cubits."

The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow, withholding the urge to ask what the exact answer had been, knowing that he would just want to correct the student. Instead, he just nodded his head, trying to look as put upon as possible. Thankfully, his conversation was interrupted as the principle of the school walked in. The blonde woman turned to look at all of them before smiling widely, gesturing at someone that the Pharaoh couldn't see because of his position by the desk. "We have a reporter here doing a piece on our school for the newspaper. Apparently, the students' test scores have been high enough to warrant attention."

The woman walked out, letting the reporter walk further into the room. The Pharaoh's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the familiar woman, taking in her long black hair and blue eyes. She was much older than he remembered, but there was no doubt in his mind of who the woman was.

She seemed to notice that he was staring at her, smiling before moving over to stand in front of him, giving him a nervous smile before gathering herself back together. "Hello. I'm Ishizu Ishtar."

"John Smith." He replied with a little smile, reverting to one of his old aliases, one that Ishizu would recognize. And she did, her eyes going wide as she stared at him for a moment, the Pharaoh hating that he had to stay undercover. Besides, Ishizu had survived well enough for thirty years on her own and had grown into a beautiful women; the Pharaoh couldn't help but smile at the thought, feeling nostalgia creep up on him.

"I had a friend once who went by that name." His smile faded as Ishizu looked down at the floor, catching the tears that were forming in her eyes before she seemed to get herself back under control. "I'm sorry. He died years ago and…and I never got to say good-bye." She shook her head again, clearing her throat before going back to business. "So, anything to say about the school?"

"Well, the students are smart."

"Smarter then they should be?"

"They love learning." The Pharaoh shrugged, like he was offering an excuse, nearly beaming when Ishizu shook her head, tapping her pen against the pad of paper in her hand.

"The scores went up faster than any in the history of Japan. Tell me that is just because of the kids." Ishizu gave him a smile before gesturing at him. "I want to know what _you_ think, not what they probably want you to say."

"Well, I'm too new here to tell, but something is definitely going on here."

Ishizu nodded in agreement before looking over her shoulder towards the other teachers who had set themselves apart. "I believe that too, but don't tell anyone."

She gave him a wink before walking towards the rest of the teachers, the Pharaoh unable to help the smile that crossed his face as he watched her insert herself into their conversation. He leaned back against the desk, unaware of the world around him as he watched the woman slowly draw the answers out of the seven teachers. "That's my Ishizu."

* * *

She pulled her black hair back into a ponytail before getting out of her car, shutting the door before checking the bag on her belt for all the proper tools. Assured that she would have no problem getting in, she patted the trunk of the car and moved off, not bothering to stick to the shadows; as late as it was, no one was going to be near Domino High School. Ishizu smiled at the thought, almost giving the urge to turn around and talk to the man beside her, only to remember that there hadn't been anyone there for thirty years and that this urge was something that she should have gotten over.

She rubbed her hands together before selecting her tools, glancing around before looking the picks in the lock, freezing when the lock gave after a few minutes of work. She frowned as she slipped through the gates, shutting them behind her before carefully crossing the school yard. She used to be faster, but that had been before years at college, one engagement and a broken heart. Ishizu shrugged, as if that would push the thoughts away. She didn't like to dwell on her past for too long, because then it would only bring her back to the one person that she missed the most. Besides, she had something to focus on now, something that had kept her in Japan instead of returning to Luxor, something that would keep her from returning home.

It's what she did between assignments and digs, picking a place on the map and going, trying to quell the wanderlust that she still had even after all of these years. And she had enough money to do it with, helped by the money that her parents had left her after their deaths, gained from many years in politics and the money that she made on her own, most of it coming from working in the museum. Sometimes she would travel for her work, but most of the time she travelled alone. When she did, she usually found trouble and jumped into it.

That was her; Ishizu Ishtar, saving the world.

The idea brought a smile to her face as she picked the lock to the back entrance, sure that the alarms wouldn't go off. She herself had made sure of that before she had left the school that morning. After that, she had spent the hours until this moment roaming around her hotel room, trying to either relax or read, neither of which she could do. This still excited her despite her age, making her act more like a young girl than a mature woman, something that she was alright with; she had lost her childhood when her parents had decided that they were more useful outside of her life than in it. Ishizu snorted in derision as she finally got in, catching the door before it slammed into the wall.

She glanced around before sneaking in, carefully shutting the door behind her before glancing up. She would have to find the principal's office. There was no doubt that the most important records would be kept there, the things that she could use to figure this out. If she could somehow expose the school's methods or twist them so that the mayor would have to shut the school down; although, from what she had seen of Ryou Nakamura, she found it unlikely. She supposed that the recent run of events had turned the city from the mayor, although that's what just some of the people said, and she trusted few people.

Ishizu walked quickly down the hallway, her sneakers making soft noises against the tile floor. For now, she had ignored proper etiquette, even though some prim and proper part of herself that she had not managed to squash was shouting at the breach, and left her shoes on, not wanting to scramble for them if she had to run; and she was getting the feeling that she would have to run in the end.

She turned a corner, glancing around before staring up the stairs, trying to remain as quiet as possible. From her brief tour of the building by the over enthusiastic Mrs. Chono, she knew vaguely where everything was, and vaguely was good enough for now. Ishizu shivered at the memory of the principal, self consciously straightening her t-shirt as she walked down the hall. She hated the women that made you feel hideously ugly with a single glance; it was like her early years of school all over again.

Ishizu shuddered before sneaking down the last bit of hallway, glancing around before reaching for the office door, staring at it angrily when it was locked. She glanced down at her watch before reaching for her lock picks again. She had been hoping to duck in and out of the school quickly, leaving her time to go home. She wasn't in Japan just for the sight seeing; she had been hoping that someone here could fix one of her most prized possessions.

She bit her lip as she twisted one of the picks, smiling when the door came unlocked. She stowed the picks back in her pouch before reaching up for the handle, pausing at a low growl that she heard. Ishizu froze, the hairs on the back of her neck rising up as she felt like something was watching her. Reacting before she could properly think it over, Ishizu darted for the nearest cover, staring at the shadows before edging down the hall, realizing that she would have to go the long way to get to the door that she had unlocked before. But it was the safest way, especially with whatever had been watching her guarding the door. Ishizu swallowed nervously before turning and walking down the hall, pausing at a secluded staircase. She didn't know where it led, but it was away from that thing.

It was only when she was safe in the staircase that she broke out into a jog, beginning to put more distance between her and that creature, feeling her shoulders relax the further away she got. At least she had gotten over the initial reaction of shock the time where she stared such creatures in the face instead of moving. There was something to be said for a lot of experience. Ishizu laughed softly to herself before pushing the door at the bottom of the staircase open again, peeking out and looking in all directions before sneaking out.

Apparently, the staircase had led her to the gym, Ishizu thinking for a moment before deciding to go through that section of the building. There was a better chance that the doors weren't locked from the inside, meaning that she could just slip out and go back to her car, the gym was closer to it than the back door that she had used previously. With her mind made up, she walked towards the doors, opening them and staring at the wide expanse of the gym before beginning to cross it quickly.

With so much open space and so little cover, Ishizu felt exposed, fighting the urge to break into a run as she walked, instead, attempting to look in all directions at once. Her neck protested the quick side to side movement, but she felt safer if she knew that nothing was going to jump out at her, or if any attackers knew that she would be ready. She was nearly out the door when one of her glances picked up something odd. Ishizu's hands fell from the door after a moment, the woman walking slowly over to the pocket of deep shadow.

The color of the thing almost blended it in, a deep blue paint, although spots of white stood out, like the sign and the trim on the windows. Ishizu took a breath as she slowly walked forward, one hand shaking as she reached out to rest it on the familiar warm wood, almost hearing the soft hum of greeting that would have followed if she had been able to walk into the box. As it was, she was just content with stroking the box, her eyes wide as she let the memories flood her; memories of different worlds and ancient suns, memories of space and time. Ishizu shivered at the thought, taking a step back with a smile.

Her expression faded a moment later, the woman staring at the body in confusion. The TARDIS hadn't been here before or someone would have noticed it; which meant that it was a new addition. But there was only one person that she knew of who could fly the TARDIS, and he had been dead these thirty years. Unless some other Time Lord had saved the old ship, there was no way for her to be here.

Ishizu shivered, taking a few steps back before her feet wouldn't take her any further. She wanted so badly to go rushing back to the TARDIS, even if she had no way to get back inside. The world there, while mad and dangerous, was safe and familiar. She knew how to handle herself in that world, she knew who she was, but not out here. There she was someone special and important, out here she was nobody, just another person working to stay afloat. Her hands moved to cover her mouth, muffling any noises she made as she shook her head.

She didn't know how long she stood there looking at the time machine and trembling, gathering herself together for the inevitable moment where she would have to leave an go with her life, but it would be hard now, knowing that someone else had the TARDIS. Ishizu took a deep breath before turning around, her eyes widening as she stared at the man who stood behind her.

"Hello Ishizu."

 __

* * *

 _Please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome._


	11. Nostalgia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Chapter Ten: Nostalgia**

**Chapter Ten: Nostalgia**

" _You can tell you're getting older, your assistants are getting younger."_ _  
"_ _I'm not his assistant._ _"_

-Sarah Jane Smith and Rose Tyler

The Pharaoh parked the TARDIS in the gym of the school, glancing back at Yugi and Joey before walking out of the time machine, glancing around before giving them the okay. Yugi was the first out, glancing around before starting to walk across the gym, waiting for Joey and the Pharaoh to catch up. The Time Lord waited until they were out of the gym before glancing at Joey. "You take the teacher's lounge upstairs, search for anything that will help."

The blonde nodded before rushing away on his mission, the Pharaoh grabbing Yugi's shoulder and gently steering him to the cafeteria. "We're going to look at that oil of yours."

Yugi nodded before striding off, the Pharaoh following right behind. He found himself nearly jumping at all the sounds that the building made, Yugi's hand on his arm the only thing that kept him from going to investigate some of the sounds. He would rather stay close to Yugi anyway, especially after Yugi had described how the lunch ladies had been handling the barrels. Joey was relatively safe in the teacher's lounge, the Pharaoh was sure of that; none of the staff acted like they had anything hidden up there. But that was the reason that he wasn't going to look at the main offices until all three of them were together. It only made sense that they, whoever they were, would guard what was in there the most heavily.

He pushed those thoughts away as Yugi led him into the cafeteria, looking around the dark, empty space before giving his companion a little shove towards the door back into the kitchens; Yugi rushing through as he did a final sweep of the area. The Pharaoh slipped into the kitchens himself, digging around and finding a glass jar while Yugi reached for one of the nearby spoons, his gaze moving to the three yellow barrels that were sitting in the kitchen. Yugi went over to one of them, the one whose top was slightly ajar with the thick oil coating it. The Pharaoh wondered why the women hadn't bothered to put it back, unless there was more danger in the oil itself than he thought. "Be careful."

"Yeah. I don't want you to have to explain to mom why I exploded." Yugi gave a soft laugh before nudging the top out of the way with the spoon, beginning to put the oil into the jar. The Pharaoh moved to stand beside him, tipping his head to the side as the analyzed the smell of the oil before pointing his screwdriver at it. While he wouldn't find out what it was, it would at least tell him if it was too dangerous to be taken with them. Then he would need to find a way to land the TARDIS around the barrel and experiment from there. He glanced down at the screwdriver, nodding to himself before motioning Yugi on.

"It's safe enough to touch for us."

"Then why did she explode."

"I don't know." The Pharaoh turned to look at the small room in the kitchen, walking towards it before glancing back at Yugi. The human gave him a nod, the Pharaoh peeking into the room and seeing a pile of ashes on the floor. He frowned, walking into the room to be sure that he was not seeing things. But they were there as plain as day, slightly discolored ashes in the vague shape of a body, the stains still on the floor from the initial explosion. He frowned and retreated back to the kitchen, watching as Yugi screwed the top on the jar before nudging the top back onto the barrel. His companion was just about to set the spoon in the sink when they heard a screech.

They both froze at the sound, exchanging a long look before Yugi handed the jar back to the Pharaoh, the Time Lord slipping it into his pocket before walking towards the exit. "Let's go see what's upstairs."

Yugi nodded and took the lead, heading for the main stair case. The Pharaoh followed after again, keeping on the look out for anything strange that might attack them. He frowned as he heard a faint creak from nearby, watching as a shadow slipped out of a staircase before walking towards the gym. He reached out to stop Yugi, the human looking at him in surprise. "Go find Joey and stay with him."

"Pharaoh?"

"Tell him to get down here as soon as he's done in the teacher's lounge. I want us to look at the offices together." Yugi hesitated for a moment, the Pharaoh reaching out and pulling him close so that he could whisper. "As long as I don't know what these things are, I want us to stay together."

Yugi gave a slow nod, the Pharaoh reluctantly letting go of him and watching as Yugi bounded up the stairs, remaining there until he companion could no longer be seen before turning around and heading towards the gym. Something was going towards where he had left the TARDIS and, while he was sure that the thing wouldn't be able to breech the TARIDS' defenses, that was the last bit of home he had and he was fiercely protective of her. No one would get his ship while he was still breathing; he and the TARDIS had been through far too much with each other.

He resisted the urge to slam open the doors of the gym, preferring to cross the room quietly, his eyes moving towards where he had parked the time machine. At first, he could see nothing, tensing as he finally was able to make out someone moving back out of the shadows. The Pharaoh increased his pace a bit, slowing down quickly as he recognized his old friend. A smile crossed the Time Lord's face, the Pharaoh just standing behind the woman and waiting for her to turn around, tipping his head to one side as he noticed that she was shaking, pushing that aside as the woman finally did turn around. "Hello Ishizu."

Ishizu stared at him for a while before shaking her head, looking between the TARDIS and him before breathing out a single word. "Pharaoh?"

He smiled at that, walking forward and resisting the urge to pout when he realized that she was taller than him. He lost the thought as she rushed forward to hug him, surprised at the sudden affection from her, used to her old closed off ways. The Pharaoh allowed her to hug him for a moment more before pulling away, gently wiping the tears off her cheeks, pushed away as Ishizu hurriedly finished the job. "I thought you were dead. They called you back to Gallifrey and…I thought you were dead."

"I'm alive, strangely enough." The Pharaoh sighed and shook his head. "It's a strange world."

"Pharaoh?"

He looked at his old companion, the only one that he had met in a long while. The others he couldn't bring himself to go and see or didn't know where they had ended up, some scattered through the galaxy and some not making it back alive. Thankfully those were few and far between, it still hurt. And Yugi had almost been one of those. If he hadn't acted quickly enough…The Pharaoh shook his head, looking up at Ishizu and debating telling her about the Time War, managing to work up the courage to speak of it when there was a scream from upstairs.

The Pharaoh reacted instantly, turning and running for the doors. He smiled as he heard Ishizu racing after him, turning to look over his shoulder at her and flashing a smile. It was almost like old times. The Pharaoh shook his head, taking the stairs two at a time before turning down a corridor, smiling as he saw Yugi there to greet him, his companion waiting until the Pharaoh hand slowed down to talk. "Sorry, our fault."

"This closet is full of rats!" Joey's voice squeaked up an octave as he pointed at the packages that had strewn out over the floor, the Pharaoh glaring at him before crouching to look at them. He cautiously picked a pack up, flipping it over to look at the vacuum sealed package and the yellow tinted rat inside of it. He frowned and looked up at Yugi, holding the package up at him only to have the human shake his head.

"If we dissected rats, they didn't look like that."

"If?"

"Our teacher was squeamish." Yugi shrugged like that explained everything looking up and tensing as Ishizu finally caught up with them, panting from her run but still smiling. "Who's this?"

"Oh." The Pharaoh glanced over his shoulder, tossing the rat back to the ground before standing up. "This is Ishizu, she used to travel with me before."

Ishizu reached out to shake Yugi's hand with a smile on her face, the Pharaoh blinking at the frown that Yugi gave him. Ishizu spoke up soon afterward, tucking pieces of hair behind her ears. "Is he the student that you recruited to help you with this? Did you give him the warning to be careful?"

"Yugi is-"

"Yugi, that's a cute name."

"Yugi is-"

"Listen, have you given him the warning or not because, knowing you, he'll get killed and then you'll just fly off and leave his parents to deal with it."

"Yugi is-"

"Yugi is right here and capable of hearing everything that you are saying." Yugi crossed his arms over his chest and glared evenly at the two. "I am _not_ a student here but I'm still helping out. I'm his _companion_." The Pharaoh glanced over at Ishizu, wincing at the look that crossed her face. "And I am an adult who is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. Now, Pharaoh, who is this person?"

"What?" Ishizu looked shocked, turning to him. The Pharaoh scratched the back of his next before turning and walking off towards the offices, something telling him to get out of there quickly. Of course, he had forgotten that they were following him, glad that Joey chose to walk beside him while Yugi and Ishizu continued to verbally spar. "I was his assistant before you were even born. He must be getting old if he's taking kids like you along for the ride."

"I'm twenty years old! I'm not a kid!" The Pharaoh flinched at the stern tone of voice that Yugi used, not used to seeing his easy going companion like this. "Besides, how could I know who you were? He never talks about you?"

"Never? Not even…"

The Pharaoh took advantage of the lull, turning around and glaring at the two, surprised to see equal expression of hurt on both of their faces. "Quiet. You can shout at each other later."

He turned back to the door, placing his hand on the knob, surprised when it turned. He hadn't expected it to be unlocked, but it did mean that no one would hear the sonic. He gently pushed the door open, looking around the room, shocked to see that it was empty. For a moment, he questioned whether or not this was an actual invading force. He stepped into the room, motioning for the others to keep back as he looked into all of the dark corners before finally looking up, freezing in place.

Hanging from the ceiling were eleven bat-like creature, their wings wrapped around them as they slept. The Pharaoh gave a soft hiss before motioning the others back, slipping out the door before locking it with his sonic screwdriver. He glanced up at the small window that the door had, seeing something move in the shadows. He gave the shoulder closest to him a shove, Joey taking the lead as they walked out of the hallway and to the stairs, fleeing in silence until they walked out of the front door, Joey leaning over and panting for air. "What were those things?"

"Whatever they were, they were the exact same number as the staff that was replaced here." Yugi rubbed a hand over his face before shaking his head. "That can't be coincidence."

"That kid has a cool head on his shoulders, Pharaoh, good choice."

"Hey!"

The Pharaoh ignored Yugi's shout, pulling the jar out of his pocket before looking back at the school. He assumed it was safe to circle around back to the gym, and they would be completely safe in the TARDIS. He stared at the jar, tipping it from side to side to watch the liquid flow before looking up. "We need to analyze this. If we do that, then we might know what they are."

"Right, then we're going back to the-"

"I'll get K-9." The Pharaoh saw Yugi's jaw drop as he was interrupted, the human looking pleadingly between him and Ishizu. The Time Lord was about to comfort his companion when he realized what Ishizu had said. He turned around and ran towards where Ishizu was slipping through the gates, rushing out after her and smiling as she opened the trunk of her car, revealing the metal dog that was in there. The Pharaoh gave a low whistle and ran his hand over the dog.

He remembered making this a long time ago, a lab that could follow him and someone to help keep the loneliness at bay. He also remembered giving him to Ishizu to keep her company, a kind of apology for him being summoned back to Gallifrey, which resulted in her being kicked out. And then he had never come back. He moved away from that thought, examining K-9 more closely, dismayed that the metal dog was rusting in places, dented and scratched on the few panels that remained, most of his circuitry exposed. If anything, he looked more like a high school science project than a high tech piece of equipment, but the Pharaoh cherished him all the same. "Is this Mark Three?"

"Yes." Ishizu replied with a sad smile. "I tried to keep him in good condition, but one day he just stopped working. I brought him here hoping that someone could fix him."

The Pharaoh glanced at his old companion before nodding, stripping off his jacket and jumping into the trunk of the car, situating himself comfortably. He saw Yugi and Joey squeeze out through the gate, pulling the sonic out from his pocket before throwing the coat to Yugi, who caught it and spread it out on the ground; sitting on the sidewalk and leaning back against the wall. Satisfied that Yugi was within his line of vision, the Pharaoh went to work, running a quick diagnostic before beginning to fix what he could. It wouldn't be a complete fix, but it would hold the metal dog over until tomorrow. By then, they would have driven whatever was in this school out and he could take K-9 into the TARDIS for a proper fix.

The car sunk a bit as Ishizu sat down on the other side of K-9, gently stroking the metal dog's head as she watched him, the Pharaoh acutely aware of her gaze. He ducked his head down, trying to focus more on the circuitry of K-9 than his old friend, not wanting to face the questions that would come eventually. This was one of the reasons that he tried to never look back, he didn't feel comfortable answering all of their questions and he still thought that they would never be able to understand him. He paused in his work, glancing over at Yugi as his fingers tightened on the sonic screwdriver. There was a chance that Yugi could understand his motives, but he wasn't willing to risk the human, at least not without Yugi's full agreement. And, even worse was the risk that what he did would backfire and Yugi would be burning again. He could only think of one thing to do then, and he didn't want to do it, he didn't want to lose Yugi forever.

"So," Ishizu' soft voice brought him from his thoughts, the Pharaoh looking up at her suddenly, "how did you meet him?"

"I blew up his job." He turned back to the metal dog, hoping that Ishizu would leave him alone and knowing that it was a dim hope anyway. While she did deserve to know these things, he didn't want to discuss them.

"Oh, that explains why he came with you. It's better than a job." Ishizu smiled. "Must have swooped in to save him and not let him look back once, huh?"

The Pharaoh's throat went dry as Ishizu described his past behavior. He knew he had acted like that once, when he was younger and more quick to anger, more picky about the myriad of rules that he had set up for his companions and himself. But he had changed after the Time War, he had brought Yugi home and stayed with him twice now, and the Pharaoh had a feeling that this would count as a third time. None of his other companions had that privilege; when they asked to go home, they were gone for good.

He cleared his throat and shook his head. "No. He's from around here actually. Joey told us about this place. What have you been up to?"

The change of subject was needed, he didn't want her delving too much into this new life, this new him. He wanted to keep his love for Yugi a secret from the world for a while longer. If he admitted it, out loud for everyone to hear, then Yugi would become nothing more than a target for kidnappings and, knowing Yugi, he would fight and get killed. The Pharaoh looked up hopefully at Ishizu, watching as she seemed to consider his question.

"Well I was engaged once."

"Really?"

"It didn't work out. He found a girl who was prettier and more girly and I went back to my work. I help with the museum now." She gave him a smile. "I'm almost the director. I've just got to wait this one out and the job will be mine."

"Good for you."

"But it wasn't the same you know, without you." He tensed at the wistfulness in her voice, realizing he had pushed from one topic that he didn't wish to discuss right to another. He ducked down further, working frantically to drown out the sound of her talking. "I waited for you at first, moping around my house before I decided to make something of myself. But I never wanted something to tie me down. I still have a suitcase packed and ready at the door for if you come back for me. But you've never come back for me, have you?"

The Pharaoh winced before shaking his head, glancing up at Ishizu before returning to his work, surprised to find that he had run out of things to do. As a distraction and shield from awkward conversation, it had helped, but it had served its purpose. The Pharaoh swallowed before sitting up, maneuvering the last wire into place as he listened to Ishizu.

"Humans weren't allowed on Gallifrey."

"After then."

"I couldn't."

"You could have."

He tried not to wince at the anger in her voice, looking down at the metal body of K-9, turning his attention abruptly to the metal dog as it moved slowly and jerkily. He slid from his place in the trunk to stand in front of the dog, his smile returning as he heard it speak. "Primary s-systems activated. Full power restored." The dog's head rose, the light behind its eyes lighting up as the systems began to run again. "Hello master."

"You recognize me."

"Affirmative." K-9 wagged his tail, the antennas that made up his ears twitching at well. The Pharaoh rested a hand on his head before gesturing towards Yugi, accepting the jar that contained the oil from his companion with a smile, surprised when Yugi just glared at him and retreated to the coat. He glanced back at his companion before opening the jar and dipping his finger into the oil, coating the small red plunger at the end of K-9's nose and stepping back. "P-processing. A-accessing data banks."

There were a few clicks and whirrs from K-9, the Pharaoh glancing to either side of the metal dog to be sure that nothing was coming undone or smoking under the stress of use again. He turned his gaze back up to the face of the dog when there was a soft beep. "The substance is Krillitane oil."

The Pharaoh stared at the dog for a moment before giving a slow nod, hearing Yugi stand up and lean on the car, missing the feeling of Yugi standing right beside him. "So, Krillitane oil?"

"From a race called the Krillitanes, they basically assimilate the parts of conquered species, which is why it's hard to recognize them. It's because of this that their own oil is poisonous to them." The Pharaoh shook his head and looked back towards the building. "Tomorrow we meet here and figure out what they want from the kids. I'll deliver the ultimatum and we'll see if we can end this without a fight."

"Just like old times." Ishizu smiled before shutting the trunk, waving at them all before driving off. The Pharaoh gave her a last wave before turning around, accepting his coat from Joey. Yugi was nowhere in immediate sight, the Pharaoh panicking for a moment before he saw his companion slipping through the gates and back towards the school. He nodded and Joey, the two of them following after Yugi. Their plan would wait until school started the next day, which would give the three humans plenty of time to relax and the Pharaoh plenty of time to look further into this matter.

* * *

Yugi walked out of the TARDIS with Joey, leaning against the outside of the box as Joey said his goodnights before the blonde headed back to his apartment, Yugi watching him go. He glanced up at his own apartment, biting his lip. Junri would be asleep by now, he had told her not to wait up for him, not knowing when the Pharaoh would get them back from their investigation of the school. Thankfully, it looked like his mother had listened to him, the one good thing that had come of his night.

He took a deep breath before looking up at the stars, smiling faintly when he could pick out a few, the rest dimmed by the lights of the city. Yugi shivered, rubbing his arms and looking back at the TARDIS. Without any real thought, he began walking towards his apartment, suddenly wanting to escape. After everything that had happened, he just wanted a place to sit and think where the Pharaoh wouldn't find him. He wanted a place where he could break down, something that he felt he was on the verge of doing. The conversation between the Pharaoh and Ishizu kept repeating in his head.

"Yugi?" He didn't turn around at the sound of the Pharaoh's voice, coming to a stop and staring at the ground instead. The need to get away was worse now, Yugi trembling in place. He tensed as the Pharaoh walked up to him, jerking away when the Time Lord rested a hand on his shoulder. "Yugi, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just tired. Night." He started to walk back to his apartment, only to be stopped by the hand on his shoulder.

"I thought you said you couldn't sleep in your room." Yugi allowed himself to be turned slightly, staring at the ground instead of up at the Time Lord. "You came down to the TARDIS last night."

"I know, but I should get used to my room, just in case." The hand dropped off of his shoulder, as Yugi shrugged, gathering enough for a quick glance up at the Pharaoh. It was enough to see the shock on the Time Lord's face, Yugi flinching and turning around to leave again, yelping as he was grabbed again.

"What do you mean by that, Yugi?"

He shoved the Pharaoh's hand off of him. "I mean that you might leave me behind one day to, for whatever silly reason you will come up with. Are you going to come back for me then, or are you just going to leave me behind and forget about me?"

"Never."

"Did you promise her that too?" Yugi was aware that he was beginning to throw this out of proportion, unable to stop himself from talking. "Did you tell her that you would be back and then never return? You never even told me about her, Pharaoh! How many others have you forgotten like that?"

"Yugi, I-"

"Am I just the next in a long line to the dumped when you got bored?" Yugi took a step back from the Pharaoh, wiping at his cheeks. He didn't need to be crying now and he hated that he could be driven to tears so easily.

"No." He tried to step away, the Pharaoh reaching out to hold him still. "Not you."

"How can I trust that?"

"Because I-" There was a flash of pain in the Pharaoh's eyes before the Time Lord shook his head. "Just trust me this one time. That will never be you."

Yugi allowed himself to be pulled into a hug, feeling that it was more for the Pharaoh's sake that his own. Still, he wrapped his arms around the Pharaoh, holding the Time Lord close. He wondered briefly what anyone passing by would think of them, the warm puff of air against his neck driving that thought out of his mind. The Pharaoh hesitantly rubbed a hand down his back before pulling away, sighing before reaching for Yugi's hand and giving a gentle tug on it as he backed toward the TARDIS. Yugi glanced back up towards his apartment before shaking his head. "Pharaoh-"

"Please, Yugi." He stared at the Pharaoh, not knowing why he nodded, but relaxing at the grateful smile that the Pharaoh gave him. Yugi glanced down at their hands, staring at them until he was led into the TARDIS. The urge to run and hide was still there, but something stronger was telling him that he was needed here.

The Pharaoh paused as he looked around the console before looking back at Yugi, the Pharaoh looking nervous, which was setting him on edge. The Time Lord hesitated in the console room for a while before walking away quickly, Yugi's hand still held tightly in his. Yugi allowed himself to be dragged along, his anger gone as he watched the Pharaoh. There was something that he was obviously missing, something that he couldn't quite figure out.

He was still working on the problem when a door opened in front of them, the Pharaoh pulling him inside before shutting the door behind him. Yugi stood still, blinded but the sudden absence of light. It was only a moment later that he saw little specks of light around the room, smiling as he realized that he was standing in the room of stars. He had been here only once before, and that was when Tomoya had been kicked off of the TARDIS. Yugi remembered falling asleep in the room but waking up in his bedroom; he had just assumed that the Pharaoh had deposited him back there when the Time Lord had stumbled across him. After all, Yugi didn't know what the purpose of this room was, if it was a private room or one that he could freely use.

Yugi tipped his head up to look at the ceiling, a bit disturbed that he couldn't recognize the constellations like he could before, wandering to the center of the room with his head tipped up so he could try and connect the stars into familiar shapes, failing quickly. He sighed and looked down again, not surprised to see the Pharaoh already sitting on the bench, the Time Lord staring up at the points of light. Yugi stuffed his hands into his pockets, aware that he was still wearing his school uniform, before walking over to the Time Lord, sitting down on the bench. "I don't recognize any of these."

"You wouldn't. It's configured for Gallifrey at the moment." The Pharaoh smiled fondly, leaning back on the bench before beginning to point out constellations. His finger traced a square of stars, Yugi noticing that there were twelve stars within the square. "We called that the house of the gods, even though we had given up on the gods."

His hand moved, tracing a long snaky line through the stars. "The Great Leviathan." The Pharaoh moved to the next one, Yugi's eyes wide as he listened to the Pharaoh, allowing the Time Lord this moment. It was rare that the Pharaoh would share information about Gallifrey out without Yugi begging for it or something driving him to it. Yugi smiled and leaned back on his hands, following the Pharaoh through the constellations. "The god, the martyr…"

The Pharaoh trailed off, arm dropping back to his side as he continued to stare at the last constellation, Yugi tipping his head to the side as he watched the Time Lord. The Pharaoh took a deep, shuddering breath before running a hand through his hair. "You're right not to trust me."

Yugi opened his mouth to speak, managing a high pitched squeak before shaking his head. Is this what the Pharaoh had brought him in here for? Just to tell Yugi that he couldn't be trusted? He looked up at the door to the room, staring at the stars that covered it. What was to keep him from rushing out that door and leaving the Pharaoh? What was to keep him here at all? He glanced back at the Pharaoh, freezing in the motion of getting up at the devastated look on the Time Lord's face.

The Pharaoh stared at him for a short while more before ducking his head, trembling as he stared at the floor. "I haven't told you everything."

"You normally don't."

"But this is important, Yugi." The Pharaoh looked back up at him. "So important."

"Then tell me."

"I…You'll run."

"If you tell me," Yugi scooted closer to the Pharaoh, "then maybe I won't."

The Time Lord was silent for a long while, staring at his hands before sighing. "You don't remember what happened on the game station."

"No, but you told me." Yugi reached out to place his hand on the Pharaoh's shoulder, offering a smile. "You said that you defeated the Daleks."

"I lied." The Pharaoh flinched as he spoke, the move making Yugi's hand fall from his shoulder. The Time Lord shivered before looking up at Yugi. "I lied because I didn't want to hurt you. Because I don't know what I would do if-"

He cut himself off, returning his gaze to the floor. Yugi stared at him, his mouth open in shock but unable to say anything. He swallowed nervously before scooting closer to the Pharaoh, reaching out to hold his hand. "You told me that you absorbed the heart of the TARDIS, but the TARDIS was with me. Wasn't it?" There was no answer from the Time Lord, the fact alone scaring Yugi. "Pharaoh, what's going on?"

"I sent you away." The Pharaoh's voice cracked over the words, Yugi freezing at the sorrowful tone. He had only heard that before when the Pharaoh spoke of Gallifrey. "I sent you away to save you because I had promised your mother that I would protect you. The delta wave that I was working on was a suicide mission, in the end, I didn't have time to do anything else to it that would save me or the humans; it would have just killed us all. And I was so ready to die. But then you came back…"

Yugi stared at him, not realizing that his hand was trembling. "I…I remember opening that panel and light. I remember…remember a song…"

"You looked into the time vortex."

" _You looked into the time vortex! Damn it, Yugi, you're not supposed to see that!"_ Yugi shivered at the memory, feeling pieces coming back to him. He looked at the Pharaoh, watching as the Time Lord shifted to look at him, raising a hand to wipe away tears that Yugi didn't even know that he was crying. He licked his lips, staring at the Pharaoh. "I looked into the heart of the TARDIS…"

"You managed to get her back." The Pharaoh gave him a grateful smile. "You managed to fly the TARDIS to me, to save me."

"I am the Dark Game…"

He yelped as he was shaken, his eyes widening in fright as the Pharaoh got a tighter hold on his arms. "Stay with me, Yugi, alright? Stay with me."

"I…I remember destroying the Daleks. I killed their emperor. I left that message. I…I saved you." Yugi shook his head, pushing away the memories that seemed to be edged in golden light, his head beginning to pound. "But why did you die? I saved you!"

"Yugi…"

He gasped and leaned forward, cradling his head in his hands. "It hurts. Pharaoh, it hurts!"

Cool fingers rested against his temples, Yugi looking up as the burning sensation was pushed away again, shivering as he looked at the Pharaoh. The fear was still there, the most prominent thing in those red eyes, and that scared him. Of all the aliens they had faced, there was not one that had made the Pharaoh show his fear as much as now; the Pharaoh had always been able to hide away the fear. Yugi whimpered and wrapped his arms around himself, shivering as the Pharaoh leaned forward to rest his forehead against Yugi's.

"Easy now. Don't call it back up."

"What is it?"

"It's a remnant of the time vortex, one that I missed." The Pharaoh gave a sigh, shaking his head. "I had hoped that I could get it all, but I couldn't. There's one piece still in there."

"C-can you get it out?"

The Pharaoh stared at him for a moment. "No. Not without doing something horrible. It's stuck there, Yugi and I'm so sorry."

"What's it going to do?"

The Time Lord closed his eyes, Yugi shivering. Suddenly the room didn't seem so peaceful anymore. He just wanted to run for comfort, hide away from the facts that were being presented to him. He didn't want to be the human that had defeated the Daleks, the human with a bit of the time vortex in his head. He wanted that golden light to go away and leave him alone. He just wanted peace.

He glanced up as the Pharaoh opened his eyes, whimpering as the Time Lord lifted his hands away. "It's changing you."

"Changing me into what?"

"I can't tell, not yet. It hasn't started really."

Yugi bit his lip and leaned against the Pharaoh, shaking his head as it was guided to rest on the Pharaoh's shoulder. "What am I going to tell my mother?"

"We'll figure out something, Yugi." He nodded and clung to the Time Lord, suddenly overwhelmed by everything. The hole in his memories was slowly closing up, bits and pieces of what he had said filling back in, but nothing that he had seen when he had looked into time itself. And to know that there was still a part of it in his head, possibly killing him slowly, was nearly enough to send him into tears again.

"What happened?" The Pharaoh gave a confused hum, Yugi having to clarify. "What did you do to get rid of the time vortex? I can't remember that, it just becomes painful."

"I took it from you, transferred the power from you to me."

"You kissed me."

"I did." The Pharaoh nodded slowly, not protesting when Yugi scrambled into his lap, needing to be close to something. His whole world was slowly falling apart, he just needed something steady to cling to and the Time Lord was the perfect candidate.

"Why?"

"To save you. I couldn't let you burn, Yugi, not even that me. So I saved you, like you had saved me."

"But I didn't-"

"Trust me, you did." The Pharaoh tipped Yugi's chin up to look at him. "Never in any big ways, but the little things are the most important. Remember?" At Yugi's nod, he continued. "So I returned the favor. The horribly scarred survivor of the Time War took a human to see the stars and discovered that there was still a reason to keep living."

"You didn't have to."

"I was a soldier to the end, Yugi. It was never your war to begin with. The Time War died with that me, everyone lost." Yugi looked up at the Pharaoh before shaking his head, the Time Lord pulling him into a tighter hug. "And that's why I can't let you go. I need to keep you here to make sure that piece doesn't kill you."

"What would happen?"

"If it activates too soon, it would burn you, like you burned when you saved me…" The Pharaoh whispered something that Yugi couldn't quite catch before ducking his head to Yugi's shoulder. Yugi adjusted his hold slightly before closing his eyes, finding a comfortable position and listening to the faint double beat of the Pharaoh's hearts. He meant to think about all the information that he had been given. He meant to ask more questions and demand the answers that he would need to exist. But he fell asleep in the Time Lord's arms, comforted by the beat of his hearts and the soft light of the stars that surrounded them.

 __

* * *

 _Please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome._


	12. Competition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Chapter Eleven: Competition**

**Chapter Eleven: Competition**

" _The Universe has to move forward. Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it's a world or a relationship. Everything has its time and everything ends._ _"_

-Sarah Jane Smith

The Pharaoh stood in the lot behind Yugi's apartment, leaning back against the wall with Yugi sitting on top of it. He glanced over his shoulder, shivering as he noticed the faded words that still decorated the ground in the small area behind him, reading over them before glancing up at Yugi. Dark Game; those two words that would haunt him forever. It had been because of his inability to see what was going on, too distracted by the damage that the Time War had done to him and by his companion to notice the strange repetition of the words. Of course, hindsight was always twenty-twenty. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, turning as Yugi called out a greeting to Joey.

The blonde returned the greeting, hopping up on the wall beside Yugi to talk with his friend, the Pharaoh watching the two before his gaze returned to his companion. He didn't know what to classify last night as. While he had gotten what he wanted to say out, he doubted that it was the end of that conversation. Yugi would probably want to know more about the strange thing inside his mind, as he had all the right to know. But the Pharaoh worried what that piece of the time vortex would do to his companion. For all he knew it could be killing Yugi now and he wouldn't be able to sense it, and that frustrated and panicked him, all things that he couldn't show Yugi. So they were tucked away were Yugi couldn't see them.

He looked up at the sound of a car horn, waving as he saw Ishizu in her small car. He motioned to Joey and Yugi, letting the blonde go first before dropping back to take Yugi's hand. His companion gave him a weak smile before looking up towards his apartment, the Pharaoh following his gaze. Yugi had left the TARDIS earlier that morning to talk to his mother; the Pharaoh had only assumed that it had been about the time vortex piece. But that look that Yugi gave the apartment said it all. Still, the Pharaoh had to ask, "Did you tell her?"

"How?" Yugi gave a nervous laugh. "How could I tell her that I managed to save the world and kill you? And even if I did figure that how, how was I supposed to tell her that I've also got something in my head that might kill me? It's just…" He waved his free hand about as words failed him, looking at the Pharaoh. "You know?"

"Yeah." The Pharaoh paused, glancing at Ishizu who was waving impatiently at him before pulling Yugi into a tight hug. "But I'll take care of you. I promise."

"I know. I trust you." Yugi clung to him for a moment before pulling away, a shaky smile on his face. "Let's go finish this."

He let go of Yugi's hand as the human walked over to the car, slipping into the backseat with Joey before throwing his arm over K-9, who was sitting in the middle of the cramped back seat. The Pharaoh watched as Ishizu turned around to speak to them, watching Yugi have to curb his reactions to the woman, but still laughing. It was an interesting experience to be able to see his companions together like this, without him. He swallowed harshly, feeling his hands tremble a bit before he walked over to the car. What would they have been like if he had never come and taken them from their lives? He had the horrible feeling that they would be just fine, but just like the other humans on Earth. They would never know about their hidden brilliance, the thing that made humans so fascinating.

The Pharaoh slipped into the front seat, ignoring Ishizu' impatience. He turned his attention to the road, unable to help himself from looking into the rearview mirror to check on Yugi. It wasn't like his companion was going to suddenly drop dead; it would take some time for that to happen, if it happened at all. The Pharaoh returned his gaze to the road. He wouldn't let it happen, even if it meant losing Yugi forever, he just couldn't let the human die. Damn his attachment to Yugi, it would just lead him to trouble in the end.

But didn't he want that trouble? After all, trouble with Yugi was more fun than trouble without Yugi.

He rested his head against the window, watching Domino roll past them, barely listening to the conversation between Yugi and Joey in the backseat. He just had to focus on this one event and get through it before he could dissolve into worry. Once he and Yugi were back in the TARDIS, he would figure out a way to monitor the fragment in Yugi's head. Now, it was a matter of talking to the Krillitanes who infested the school and getting them away from the children. Yugi had said something to him yesterday, just a sentence in passing in the hall before they had met Ishizu, that there were a bunch of extra classes after school, something like honors classes. He had just ignored that at the moment, too caught up in the discovery of the Krillitanes and Ishizu to even factor that in. But what if…

The Pharaoh sat up, turning around to look at Yugi, ignoring the shocked look on Joey's face. "You said something about honors courses yesterday."

"Y-yes."

"When did they start?"

"After school…Oh, you mean the program itself?" As the Pharaoh nodded, Yugi tipped his head back to think, tapping his fingers against K-9's side. "I think it was soon after the staff was replaced…"

They stared at each other for a moment, Yugi leaning forward to look at the Pharaoh. "But that means that the Krillitanes must be doing something there. They only take the smartest students and there are a lot of burn outs from it."

"That could almost explain the sudden rush of high scores…but that can't be all." The Pharaoh twisted slightly in his seat.

"The thing I want to know is why they would keep the oil in the kitchens." The Pharaoh stared at Joey, some part of him left over from the older version of him scoffed at the idea of the mutt thinking, the Pharaoh hushing that part. Joey leaned forward with a smile on his face. "The way I see it, why would I put something poisonous to me somewhere close to where I work were anything can happen."

The Pharaoh stared at Joey in shock for a long time before looking back at Yugi. "They're using the oil in the food."

"What?" Yugi's hands flew up to his throat.

"It makes sense. They must risk the oil in their presence to put it in the food, which was why it's in the kitchens."

"Pharaoh, I _ate_ that! What's going to happen to me?"

The Pharaoh stared at Yugi for a long time, beginning to figure out the Krillitanes' plan. He sat back with a long sigh before looking up at the ceiling of the car. "What's fifty-five times seven plus twelve divided by six?"

"Twenty-five point five."

"Original names of the city Luxor?"

"Waset and Thebes."

"The furthest galaxy?"

"To Earth's knowledge? It's about thirteen billion light-years away." Yugi clapped a hand over his mouth, looking at the Pharaoh with wide eyes. None of his answers had even the slightest hint of hesitation. The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow before looking at Joey and Ishizu.

"They're using the kids for something. Why would they try to boost their intelligence otherwise?"

"Pharaoh, w-will this…"

The Pharaoh shook his head, noticing that Yugi slumped with relief. "It won't do anything to you, Yugi, aside from the intelligence boost."

He gave his companion a smile, watching as Yugi visibly relaxed. He added that to his growing to do list, to catalogue all the things that would cause that fragment to react. They wanted to keep it dormant for as long as possible. The Pharaoh sighed before turning back towards the front, realizing that they had gotten closer to Domino High School, and that Ishizu had remained silent the entire ride over. He stole a glance at her, surprised to see that she was visibly restraining herself from saying anything, something that surprised him. When she had been younger, she hadn't hesitated to speak her mind, something that had endeared her to him. Whatever it was, he was sure to find out soon enough.

Ishizu pulled into the school parking lot, the Pharaoh stepping out of the car and looking at the group he had assembled, smiling faintly before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the sonic screwdriver. "Alright, plan of attack. Joey, stay with the car."

"What?"

He looked at the blonde, trying not to laugh at the offended look on his face. "Reinforcements. We need someone to watch on the outside anyway."

Joey hugged and looked away, leaning against the car and glaring at the ground. The Time Lord ignored him, turning back to look at Ishizu and Yugi. "You two, figure out what is going on in those honor classes."

He tossed the sonic at Yugi, surprised when Ishizu intercepted it and began to walk off, giving Yugi an apologetic smile before turning to follow. His companion hung behind for a moment before rushing to catch up, reaching for the Pharaoh's hand before pulling back. "What are you going to do?"

"Issue an ultimatum. I'll join you as soon as I'm done." He didn't look back down at Yugi, surprised when Yugi gently touched his hand, drawing his attention to the human.

"Be careful, alright?"

"Yugi, it's-"

"I lost you once, Pharaoh, I don't want to again and not so soon." The Pharaoh looked down at Yugi, watching his companion smile shyly before squeezing his hand. Yugi walked away quickly after that, the Time Lord seeing the beginning of a blush on Yugi's face. He didn't quite know what to make of it. He was still struggling to maintain his promise of friendship, letting the human grieve and mourn for his former self, but then Yugi would do something like that or fall asleep in his arms and then the Pharaoh didn't know what to do. He remembered holding Yugi for hours like that after his companion had fallen asleep, fighting the urge to imagine that this was normal for them.

He rubbed a hand over his face, forcing himself to focus again, the train of thoughts so familiar that he could skim over it quickly. How long had he been forcing himself to forget about Yugi and the thoughts of what-ifs that followed him in these situations? It seemed like all of his life, the Pharaoh sighing at that thought. It hadn't been a year and he couldn't live without Yugi, couldn't imagine existing without Yugi. The Pharaoh smothered a groan as he pushed open the doors to the school, he was hopelessly in love.

The Time Lord gathered himself together as he walked into the school, carefully sticking to the edges of the crowd of students that moved through the halls. He thought that he spotted Yugi and Ishizu moving down a hall, but it was too hard to tell with all the students milling about quickly. He paid careful attention to them as he moved down the hallway, pausing when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. The Pharaoh turned slightly, easily spotting the one who was looking at him.

The teacher leaned on the banister of the steps, her blonde hair falling around her face. He would have expected her to give him a smile and a wink, but her expression remained serious. The Pharaoh returned her steady stare, watching as she inclined her head to the side, the Pharaoh glancing up the stairs before looking back at her, the message clear. She would meet him up there. He rolled his shoulders and tuned around, striding through the flow of students.

Mentally, he prepared himself for whatever the Krillitane would do, running through the list of old forms that they could have, hating that his knowledge was outdated. He should have really kept up on some of his older enemies, but the Time War had distracted him from that and then he had been running from his own memories. He forced himself to focus again as he climbed the stairs, vaguely wondering if his age had anything to do with his thoughts' tendency to wander. He wasn't as young as he used to be.

The Pharaoh smiled briefly at that thought, the expression disappearing as he saw the teacher again, following her from a good distance as she led him into where the swimming pool was, the Pharaoh entering the room carefully and listening to the gentle lap of water against the concrete sides of the pool. He glanced around, spotting the teacher standing still on the other side of the pool. The Pharaoh shrugged his coat into a better position on his shoulders before striding towards the edge of the pool, standing directly across from her.

For a moment, the teacher seemed content to let them just stand there, the Pharaoh patiently staring at her from across the pool. Then she moved, beginning to pace down the side of the pool slowly, the Pharaoh matching her from his side. He made no move to speak first, allowing her to do so in case she revealed something that he could use. The teacher gave him a smile before pushing some of her hair over her shoulder. "I saw you last night, you and your little gang of humans and I know you now. You're not just some human, I recognized the planet you named, Gallifrey. You're a Time Lord."

"What if I am?"

"The Time Lords were just a race of stuffy senators, pompous idiots altogether. It might have been a good think that they all died." The Pharaoh stiffened at that, turning to confront her only to find that she was in front of him, staring up at him. "But you are here, and alive and I guess that you are the Pharaoh, the one that whole universes both glorify and curse in the same breath. You are not like them."

"And you are a Krillitane."

"Mm, you are smart." The Pharaoh took a step back from her as she went to touch him, ignoring her sigh of disappointment as he continued to watch her carefully. "Yes, you've found us out. I'm surprised that you could. We attacked Bessan after the last time you saw us, we've had wings for the longest time now but," she smoothed her hands over her curves, "I prefer the human form. It's much more…flattering."

The Pharaoh snorted and rolled his eyes, the Krillitane pouting for a moment before straightening up. "I assume that you are here to talk business."

"Yes. One warning, leave now and you will be spared."

The Krillitane looked at him for a long moment before laughing. "And I thought you were different. But here you are, deciding what is best for this planet, these people. We are helping them-"

"You must have a reason and I'll figure it out." The Pharaoh gave her a long look before shaking his head. "You had your warning now go and do the smart thing."

She nodded, taking dainty steps towards the door, turning around halfway. The teacher tipped her head to the side before laughing. "I used to hear stories about you, how you would try and save everyone, even your enemies? What happened to that Pharaoh?"

"I was young, I had more mercy then."

"And what about now, Pharaoh?"

"I have none."

She shook her head and laughed. "A pity. But still, I will make my offer the next time that we meet, and you will find it agreeable. In fact, I think I can knock you off that haughty Time Lord pedestal that you are on and have you join me. Until then, Time Lord."

The teacher walked out of the room, the Pharaoh standing frozen in place before following her out, slipping out of the door and look at the nearly deserted hall. He felt a smile cross his face as he saw the teacher heading for the principal's office, guessing at her identity. So, Mrs. Chono was the leader of the Krillitanes, which meant that she had been one of the ones hanging up in the office when he had looked in yesterday. The smile faded from his face as he remembered her parting words to him, shaking his head with disgust. He was too old to actually disregard the statement completely, but it did unsettle him. What could she have that made her so sure that she would be able to draw him to her side.

The Pharaoh shivered briefly before turning, intent on finding Yugi and Ishizu. Before he was even aware of what he was doing, he had turned and started to follow the faint presence in his head. The Pharaoh came to a shocked stop, tentatively analyzing the song. It was Time Lord; he knew that, but it wasn't of any Time Lord that he knew. Besides, all of them were dead. He frowned at that before walking towards it, wincing at the emotions that spiked through his head; anger, frustration and jealousy, all of them sounding loud and clear before the link was suddenly cut off, leaving him standing confused in the hallway.

* * *

Yugi nearly slammed the sonic screwdriver onto the desk in front of him, slumping to rub his temples. He had a headache coming on, and it was all Ishizu's fault. Even now he could just feel her stare on his back, trying to figure him out and, for some reason, it annoyed him. She had been like this the entire time, looking at him or sucking up to the Pharaoh. Yugi gritted his teeth at the memory of her and the Pharaoh, hating the fact that they were so right around each other. It didn't matter if they had travelled together once, it was over. Yugi was the one in the TARDIS now, the one who hadn't argued and given it all up. He was the only one who was allowed to look at the Pharaoh like that.

His eyes widened as he realized where his thoughts were going, managing to resist the urge to slam his head down against the table that he was at. He instead set it down very gently, biting into his arm to keep from screaming in frustration. Why was _he_ thinking like this? He still had moments where he cried at the memory of his old Pharaoh, much to his embarrassment. It felt like mere days since the old Pharaoh had given his life to save him, that is crush had died right in front of him; he had no right to be thinking of another man like that.

But there was still the nagging part of his mind that said that the Pharaoh was the same man. This one wasn't as closed and cold towards him, something that Yugi found that he liked, but he still had glimpses of the other man, the one that he had fallen in love with. And there was no denying that this Pharaoh was attractive, his stomach had been performing small flips at some of the smiles that had been aimed his way and the Pharaoh speaking in a Scottish accent had done funny things to his equilibrium. That was enough of a reason to be pulling out of his grief, but it wasn't a good enough reason for Yugi.

He wanted to know that he loved this Pharaoh as much as he had loved the old and he wanted to know that he loved the Pharaoh for more than just his looks. Yugi pulled his head from the table, staring miserably at the blank computer screen in front of him, seeing himself reflected in it. He stared at himself for a moment before looking away, not sure if he liked what he saw. After traveling for so long, he had thought that he would look at least a little different, but he guessed not. After all, all the changes were on the inside.

Yugi ran a hand through his hair before picking up the sonic screwdriver again, turning it in his hands before ducking under the table again to examine the tower unit, staring at it before moving around so he could look at the back of the unit. There had to be some way to get the computer to turn on, confused as to why it hadn't in the first place; none of the computers would. So he had to assume that they were locked in some way, and there was no where else that he could go. From all his information, this was the lab that the honors classes worked in and they were the only ones who used the computers.

He extracted himself from underneath the table, staring at the back of the computer before raising the sonic to that, hoping that something would happen. From his position on the floor, he could see Ishizu making her rounds around the computers, always returning to the teacher's computer. She was probably hoping that she would be able to turn on all the computers from that place. He watched her for a moment more before returning to work, letting out a long sigh as he did so.

If he was honest with himself, he didn't quite know why he was so annoyed with Ishizu. Maybe it was because the Pharaoh had not told him about other companions. Or maybe it was that threat that he would just be dropped back home without a warning, like the time the Pharaoh had nearly left him in the past. But the Pharaoh had promised that Yugi could stay. No, he had said that Yugi couldn't leave because of the fragment of the time vortex that was still lodged in his head. Either way, he was staying with the Pharaoh for the rest of his life, something that he wanted; because he wanted the chance to see if he could fall in love with this Pharaoh.

Yugi almost dropped the screwdriver at that thought, glancing up at Ishizu to see if she had seen his slip up before shaking his head and moving on to the next computer. As much as he tried to push the thought away, it kept coming back, the memories rushing through his mind. In hindsight, it had been blissful to be in love again. He had once been like that with Miho, but it had faded quickly, pushed into the normality of his life and the never ending drudgery. And, with the Pharaoh, it had never become that, probably because they were always moving and every day was something different. But he had a gut feeling that there was more to it than that.

With Miho, much to his embarrassment, his being in love was more akin to being in lust. She had always been a pretty girl and he had been delighted when she had chosen him above all others. In hindsight, the passion had worn out quickly, probably because they had moved too fast or he hadn't been exactly what she had been looking for. Yugi would never know now, but he was strangely alright with that. Miho had always been a great friend to him and a thoughtful girlfriend. He should have known that they would have never ended up together. Miho had dreams that she wanted to follow, while Yugi had been content to plod along and forget his dreams for security. He shook his head with a smile, how that had changed.

But that still left the one question that he had yet to answer. Was he really in love with the Pharaoh as he was now?

Yugi knelt on the ground, tapping the sonic screwdriver against his hand as he thought it over, finally shaking his head. He didn't want to jump into something again, something telling him that this was one thing not to squander or rush. He would sit back and let things progress, but he had a feeling that he wouldn't be the one to draw the line. Yugi shivered at that thought, closing his eyes for a moment. Oh, that was going to lead to something very interesting.

He dropped the screwdriver, flinching at the sound of metal hitting metal. The next moment he was scrambling for the sonic, standing up and stretching out his back after he had retrieved the tool. Yugi glanced around the room with a long sigh, leaning against the table and thinking of calling Joey. Despite the blonde's protests, Joey had gotten a lot of practice working with technology. Sighing, he reached into his pocket for his cell phone, stopping as he heard Ishizu's voice.

"You know, out there, you can't just call for help whenever you're lost."

Yugi narrowed his eyes as he stared at her, jealously flaring up again. He was surprised at its strength, but a bit too far gone. All he could remember was the adoring looks that the Pharaoh had been giving Ishizu when they first met. Logic said that it was just amazement at seeing one of his old friends again, but he didn't care. "Then what do you suggest?"

"Give me that thing." Ishizu walked over, Yugi dropping the sonic into her hand before leaning back, smiling to himself as he watched her struggle with the sonic. This was a new side to himself that he had never experienced before, and he found that it frightened him a bit. Yugi straightened up, forcing the smile away. At the same moment, Ishizu glanced back at him before giving a sigh. "Yugi, could I give you some advice?"

He tipped his head to the side, surprised when Ishizu just started talking again. "I know how a relationship with the Pharaoh feels. I know how wonderful and frightening it is, but I want to warn you that it will always end." Yugi stared at her, feeling himself tense as she continued to talk. "And it's so hard to adjust to a life where there is nothing to look forward to, no planets, no danger, no running. No more TARDIS or Pharaoh."

Yugi stumbled away, shaking his head as he stared at her, Ishizu slowly standing up, her eyes fixed on a wall. He caught himself against another table slowly shaking his head as she came out over her reverie. "Yugi, no matter how wonderful it feels, you need to let it go and not pursue it. It'll be better in the end."

"What do you know?" Yugi snapped the words before he knew what he was doing. His eyes widened at his own daring, but he found that he couldn't stop once he had started. "I bet you gave up as soon as you got scared."

"Shows what you know." Ishizu gave him a steady look, Yugi shaking his head again. He knew that there must have been other versions of the Pharaoh before the two that he had known and he had probably known subconsciously that the Pharaoh had loved other companions, but actually thinking that caused his stomach to roll in revulsion. The Pharaoh was _his_ , Yugi gasping as he felt the golden fragment react in his mind, one arm pressing against his stomach as he felt nausea roll through him. He swallowed shakily as he looked back up as Ishizu.

The woman looked at him before walking over to him and resting a hand on his shoulder. "Yugi, I'm just trying to save you from the heartbreak."

"But he said-"

"He says a lot of things, Yugi, and he means them. But that doesn't mean he can stop things from happening." She took an unsteady breath. "People have died when they travelled with him, Yugi. Do you want your mother to be waiting for you to come back forever?"

"No!" Yugi pulled away from her, needing to lash out to push the doubt away from his mind. "That was the Pharaoh that you knew, but not my Pharaoh."

"Yugi…"

"No. He _promised_ me this and he won't break that promise."

"Yugi, I know it's hard and maybe I went about telling you this the wrong way. I should have said it so you could handle it better."

"Maybe you couldn't handle it."

That got a reaction from Ishizu, the woman standing up straight and glaring at him. "I could handle it."

"That's why he dropped you off then?" Yugi didn't know where this cruel streak was coming from, but he just wanted her to stop talking like that, to make her stop trying to get him doubt the Pharaoh.

"No. He had to leave me behind." Ishizu took a step back, crossing her arms across her chest. "I could handle all of that, probably better than you could."

"Really?"

Ishizu glared at him for a moment before rocking back onto her heels. "Mummies."

"Ghosts."

"Robots. More robots than you could think of."

"Slitheen."

"Daleks!"

"I met the Emperor." His eyes narrowed. "I defeated the Emperor."

"Anti-matter monsters!"

"Gas-mask zombies."

"Dinosaurs. Real ones!"

"Werewolf. Real one!"

Ishizu glared at him before pacing back at forth. Yugi thought he had own until Ishizu spun around to point at him. "The Loch Ness Monster!"

Yugi stared at her, his mouth working for a moment before a smile crossed his face. "Really? What did it look like?"

They stared at each other for a moment, Yugi blushing and looking down at his sneakers. He had no right to be this jealous of Ishizu, the Pharaoh wasn't his alone. The Pharaoh had existed before he was born and would exist after he died. He had no right to claim the wonderful Time Lord as his own. As much as it rankled him, he would have to just accept that. He bit his lip and gave a long sigh, glancing up at Ishizu before shaking his head. "What are we doing?"

Ishizu stared back at him, seeming to struggle with the question. "W-what?"

"We're arguing over an _alien_ , like jealous lovers."

"If only."

Yugi stared at her in shock. "Did you?"

"No." Ishizu looked around before lowering her eyes to the floor, blushing. He almost didn't catch her next whispered words. "But I wanted to."

"Really?"

"I think everyone does." She looked up, tossing the sonic to him. Yugi caught it with a smile, shaking his head. Ishizu returned his smile, leaning back against the table and looking up at the ceiling. "He's just one of those people."

"Charismatic?"

"Yes."

"Impressive?"

"Yeah."

"Annoying?"

"Definitely." Ishizu laughed, looking back at him. She titled her head to the side for a moment. "He's changed since I've seen him. I just wonder, how many times?"

"I don't know, he's never told me. But he changed just recently before he had the whole tall and handsome thing going for him. He was a pain to deal with though." Yugi chuckled, absently pocketing the sonic. "Did he always insult humans?"

"Always."

"Good, I thought that it was just me."

"Oh no, always. He insults species when he gets stressed. I'm guessing it's a Time Lord thing. Does he still pet bits of the TARDIS?" Yugi nodded, Ishizu's smile widening. "I always wanted to just ask if he wanted to alone when he was doing that."

They stared at each other before bursting into laughter, Yugi hanging onto the table to keep from falling over. There was a lull moments later as they tried to get themselves together and get back to work, but they just fell back into laughter, Ishizu finally slipping to the floor and holding her stomach. Yugi was about to move and help her up when he saw the Pharaoh walk into the room, looking annoyed. He managed to keep control of himself for a moment more before he fell to the floor too, still laughing.

He got a glimpse of the Pharaoh's bemused face as he wandered over, looking at his two laughing companions. Yugi tipped over onto his back, one arm flung over his stomach as he tried to calm down, aware of the tears that were leaking from his eyes. He smiled up at the Pharaoh, watching as the Time Lord glanced over at Ishizu before staring at him, one eyebrow raised in a silent question. Yugi gave him a wave, his fingers tapping against his stomach as his laughter slowed to little chuckles, Yugi sucking in a deep breath to calm himself.

"What are you two doing?"

"Investigating."

The Pharaoh looked at the two of them, turning slightly to look around the room before shaking his head. "Doesn't look like it."

Yugi held up a hand, the Pharaoh grabbing hold of it and pulling him up. They held hands for a moment longer than necessary, Yugi surprised when his fingers slid against the Pharaoh's, the move bringing them close to a more intimate manner of holding hands. He blushed and stepped away, quickly pulling the sonic out of his pocket as the Pharaoh helped Ishizu up, the woman managing to smother her giggles. Yugi barely paid attention to the Pharaoh's attempt to give them a glare of disappointment, turning back to the computers.

He felt better after getting all of that off of his chest, glad that he didn't have to worry about competing with Ishizu for the Pharaoh, no matter how silly that it still sounded in his head. He glanced over at the Time Lord before bending to look at the computer. "We couldn't get them to turn on."

Yugi heard the faint buzz of the sonic screwdriver, looking up as the Pharaoh sighed, shaking his head. "All deadlocked, which means I can't get through. But what could they have in here that is so important." The Pharaoh stared at him for a moment before shaking his head. "There has to be some way to get into these things."

All three of them turned to go back to work, Yugi wondering if he was the only one who felt helpless that they were just working on a hope. He swallowed nervously, looking out toward the door before raising his hand to rest of the collar that kept him hidden from the rest of the school. He had only put it on again because he wanted to be able to blend in, plus, he felt a bit more secure knowing that only the Pharaoh, Joey and Ishizu could see him as he was; no one would call him out. Yugi shook his head and returning to work, staring at the bunch of wires in front of him and wondering how they were supposed to even start.

* * *

Joey grunted as he lifted K-9 from the car, glancing at the school and rubbing the back of his neck. He had been told to stand guard outside, but he had a bad feeling. He glanced towards the fields, watching as the girls in their uniforms played tennis. From his own high school experience, as short as that was, he knew that any chance to get out of school was taken gladly. But these girls all looked like they'd rather be back in class. He shook his head, stepping around the robot dog as it trundled into the building, all of the halls empty. Joey glanced around before moving towards the back of the school, K-9 following him closely.

Everything that he had seen today didn't make sense. For one, no one had hung around outside the school for a bit before class, everyone had rushed in. There was no one sneaking out, something that occurred regularly. And there weren't any kids staring dreamily out the windows. The classrooms that he had seen on the first floor all had extremely attentive teenagers in them, that alone making Joey worry. No one was acting normal here, the first tip off that something was going wrong. Of course the Pharaoh would figure it out, but Joey was feeling jumpy from inaction.

He pressed himself back against the wall as he heard the faint squeak that always came before an announcement, smiling as he realized that he old sound system hadn't been fixed yet. His amusement ended quickly when a soft voice came over the loudspeakers, Joey glanced over at the nearest window, muttering a soft curse when he couldn't see what was going on outside. He wanted to see the reaction to the oncoming announcement; that alone would give him what the students thought of this situation.

"Students, this is your principle Mrs. Chono, please return to your classrooms for the remainder of the day. Those who are enrolled in the honors classes will report to their assigned classrooms." The speakers gave a whine before shutting off, Joey staring at them before glancing at his watch.

By now, the Pharaoh would have had time to talk to the leader of the Krillitanes and something told him that, even if negotiations had gone sour, the Pharaoh had managed to intimidate them. Joey smiled to himself before moving again, wandering towards where the guessed that the others were, wanting to get out of the way of the incoming students. He and K-9 had to be out of the way, because the metal dog would be a dead give away about who he was with. He remembered seeing those bat things in that room, he didn't want to tempt his luck.

"K-9." He whispered the dog's name, stepping into a deserted classroom, holding the door open for the dog to come in. He didn't know how long the classroom would be empty, but it was a place to hole up for a while. Joey shut the door and turned to look at the robot dog, K-9 still staring at the door. He crouched on the ground, reaching out to place a hand on the dog's nose. "Where is the Pharaoh?"

"Searching." The dishes that served as K-9's ears twitched, Joey leaning back against the door as K-9 worked, trying not to be impatient. The Pharaoh had just fixed up the metal dog, and K-9 had been out of commission for who knows how many years. Still, it was important that they find the others quickly. He kept his hand on the cold metal of K-9's body, glancing towards the hallway as he heard the sound of the teenagers coming in, all of them sounding joyous.

Joey glanced back at the door. "Hurry up!"

"Position located."

"Lockdown initiated." Joey stumbled to his feet, staring at the speakers with his mouth open in shock. He jumped as a faint click came from the windows, his hand groping for the knob of the door.

"Show me." The blonde yanked open the door quickly, the metal dog moving slowly out of the classroom and into the hallway, Joey following after. For a moment, K-9 spun slowly in place before seeming to pick up the signal again, steadily moving off in his chosen direction. Joey began walking forward quickly, keeping up with the dog as it moved through the halls, tensing when he heard the sounds of the teenagers getting closer. "Hurry."

"Krillitanes located." K-9 paused for a moment turning slightly in one direction. Joey motioned for the robot to go ahead of him while he moved closer to the wall, peering around one of the corners to see the teachers beginning to gather in the teacher's lounge. His eyes narrowed before waving the dog on again. They would worry about the aliens later; he knew better than to just challenge the aliens on his own, he still had nightmares about the Slitheen.

He followed K-9 down the hall, making sure to keep an eye out for the flow of teenagers, surprised that they didn't seem to notice his awkward attempts at sneaking around; they were too focused on returning to their various classrooms, classrooms that didn't have teachers in them. Joey frowned, hesitating in his awkward attempt to look around a corner and remain hidden at the same time. This was all wrong.

Joey hesitated for a moment longer before kneeling down by K-9. "We need a way out."

"Doors are locked."

"I know." Joey groaned and ran his hands through his hair, messing it up. "We need a way out."

"Route of retreat?" K-9 nodded his head before turning and trundling off. Joey watched the robot dog move away, shaking his head before looking back towards the teenagers, only then realizing that he had no idea where the Pharaoh and the others were. Joey slipped into the flow of teenagers, surprised when they didn't notice him, too focused on getting to whatever class they had been asked to report to. Joey rolled his eyes, muttering about the kids of today before breaking out of the line and moving off again.

* * *

 _Please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome._


	13. The God Maker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Chapter Twelve: The God Maker**

**Chapter Twelve: The God Maker**

" _What do I do? Do I stay with him?"_ _  
_ _ **"**_ _Yes. Some things are worth getting your heart broken for._ _"_

-Rose Tyler and Sarah Jane Smith

The Pharaoh looked up as Yugi came back into the room, his companion shaking his head in annoyance. "I sent them away, but it took a lot of convincing. I've never seen anyone so eager to get to class, ever." He leaned against the nearest computer. "I should have realized that something was wrong here before with them all rushing off to their classes."

"Some people like to learn."

"So much that they are scrambling to get to class. I almost got attacked out there because I told them that they couldn't come in."

The Pharaoh glanced at him, reaching out to rest his hand over Yugi's, the two smiling at each other. He looked away from his companion to try and find Ishizu among the computers. Ishizu popped up with a wire in her hand, shaking her head. "Pharaoh, it's impossible. There is no way to turn on these computers."

The screen closest to them flickered on slowly, the Pharaoh frowning and standing up. Slowly, around the room, the monitors turned on, the Time Lord turning slowly in place as the watched the screens light up. He moved to the nearest computer, leaning over to stare at the monitor, watching as it flashed black before immediately turning green. A series of letters made of lines, looking slightly Arabic to his eyes. But that was what disturbed him; he couldn't read what it said. He got glimpses of what the letters could mean, but the few translated parts just amounted the gibberish. The Pharaoh groaned and took a step back, his eyes rising to the huge screen at the front of the room.

It took a moment before he actually recognized what was flashing up on the screen, shaking his head at his own foolishness. He shouldn't have even tried to translate the symbols that were moving up on the screen, he would have never been able to anyway. No one had been able to solve the series of letters that were up on the screen, and the Pharaoh hoped no one ever did.

"Pharaoh?" He felt Yugi touch his arm, glancing back at his companion before shaking his head.

"It's worse than I thought." He reached back for Yugi's hand, holding it tightly to steady himself. "They're using the children to breaking the Skasis Paradigm."

"Skasis Paradigm?"

"It's been called the god code. Break it and you can rewrite the universe, create it the way you want to." The Pharaoh felt Yugi squeeze his hand, the Time Lord taking a slow step forward. "That's what the oil is for, the Paradigm needs imagination as well as intelligence; it's why they're using children."

"They're in high school."

"Not adults yet, that's all that matters." He shivered. "It'll kill them though, suck out all of their life."

"There are always more." The Pharaoh turned away, gently pushing Yugi behind him before shifting so that he would cover Ishizu too, watching as Mrs. Chono walked into the room. The principal fixed her hair, giving him a bright smile. "There humans are so good and reproducing. If this fails, we just move on to a new country."

Mrs. Chono laughed as he glared at him, waving away his anger with absent motion of her hand. "Don't look at me like that, Pharaoh. We just want to rewrite the universe to none of this happens."

"This?"

"Think of it, Pharaoh, no more wars, no more destruction." She took a step forward with a shrug. "We just want peace, unlike the others of the species. If we solve this, then we will get our peace."

The Pharaoh turned as she walked past him, moving until she could rest a hand on the large screen, the green light casting frightening shadows on her face. He shook his head, walking towards her. She turned her head as she heard him approaching, that sweet smile still on her face. Mrs. Chono tipped her head to the side, tapping a finger against her cheek before relaxing, the move taking him by surprise. None of his enemies ever relaxed in his presence, even if they got the upper hand in some way, they all knew him too well.

He flinched backward as she reached out to touch him, Mrs. Chono retreating after that, but that smile still remained. She demurely folded her hands, tipping her head to one side. "I offered you the chance to join with me, and the offer still stands. Will you be as quick to say no this time as you were before? Because, now I can offer you more than anyone else can. If you stand by and let us solve this, I can give you anything you want, you could stand beside us and be a _god_. Think about it, Pharaoh, all the planets you could save. You could save your own. Gallifrey, glorious Gallifrey."

The Pharaoh froze at that, his eyes widening as he realized what she was offering. "Gallifrey?"

"Yes, Pharaoh, it could come back. Then you would no longer be homeless."

"I could stop the war." All of those lives would be saved; none of them would be wasted. All of his nightmares would disappear and his family would come back. He wouldn't have to face the guilt of knowing that he had been the reason that Mokuba had died; he would get to see his children again. All of them would be alive and well. "I could save them all."

"Yes." He looked up as Mrs. Chono as she stepped closer, the Pharaoh not flinching away this time. The Time Lord could barely feel Yugi tugging at the back of his coat, too focused on what the Krillitane was offering to him. "You could have everything go back to the way it was before; everyone that you know and love alive again."

"All of them…"

Mrs. Chono's gaze darted towards the other two in the room, the Pharaoh following her gaze, barely comprehending their looks of shock. His mind was too full of memories of red grass and black sand, all under an orange sky. He could see his family's old manor, stark against the colors of his planet, but proud on its hill. There, his family would be waiting, discussing all the topics that he had once thought boring and useless. And, of course, he would spend the evenings away from all of them, racing through the grass with Mokuba and sneaking into the capitol in the early mornings to visit the vendors on market day. He could return to paradise.

The sound of a throat being cleared brought him out of his reverie, the Pharaoh turning to face Mrs. Chono, unaware of the expectant, begging look on his face. The principal just smiled and reaching out to pat his shoulder, drawing back at the last minute. "And there's more."

"More?"

She nodded and gestured at Ishizu. "She could be with you forever. Think about it, all you human friends, all of the ones that you hold dear able to live as long as you could. You could have them with you forever, no more running from them; no more trying to avoid seeing them age. Pharaoh, you could have your loved ones remain alive!"

Mrs. Chono was still focused on Ishizu, but the Pharaoh had turned to look at Yugi, staring at the human without really seeing him. He could remove the fragment from Yugi's head and keep him alive. Whatever it was doing to Yugi, he would be able to stop it. His eyes widened as his thoughts continued to race, moving beyond just saving Yugi, planning out a future that he could suddenly have. He would be sure that Yugi would get that promise of a longer life, he would take Yugi back to Gallifrey with him and they could live the life that they wanted. And he…he could take himself back a regeneration, return to the version that Yugi had loved. They could finally be together.

A smile was just crossing his face when one of the humans spoke up. "No." The Pharaoh blinked, looking up to see Ishizu trembling. She gave him a quick glance before slowing shaking her head. "You can't, Pharaoh."

"But, Ishizu-"

"No!" The shout came from Yugi this time, the human yanking him around and forcing the Pharaoh to look at him. "You listen to me, Pharaoh, let it go."

"But Yugi…I could bring your grandfather back. I could give him back his shop and you and your mother could live there for the rest of your lives. Or you could be with me…we could continue to travel and I…I could go back for you, back to the way I was before."

"No!" The Pharaoh blinked as he was shaken roughly. "Don't you dare, Pharaoh. You stupid Time Lord, don't you dare!"

He stared at Yugi, looking into his violet eyes before looking away, unable to meet Yugi's stare; it was horrible and accusing. The Pharaoh looked at the floor, Yugi still holding onto him. He felt his companion shake him weakly before leaning against him. The Pharaoh looked down at Yugi before carefully wrapping his arms around the human, holding him close as Yugi shuddered against him. He ran a hand down Yugi's back before heaving a sigh.

Yugi was right; he had to let it go. He thought that he had before, when he had changed, he had been able to let go, but it was still too close to forget, too close to the Time War; he was still the scarred soldier. The Pharaoh shook his head, letting go of Yugi before turning around, staring at the screen where the Paradigm was still running. That temptation was still there, still strong, but he couldn't live without Yugi anymore; he was too dependant. He closed his eyes for a moment, bidding good-bye to his dreams of a revived Gallifrey before walking forward.

It was cathartic to pick up a chair, weighting it briefly in his hands, before throwing it at the screen. He turned away as the glass shattered, glaring at Mrs. Chono, letting his actions be the answer to her offer. But he wouldn't stay long enough to allow her to tempt him again; he wouldn't be able to withstand that same temptation. The Pharaoh gave Yugi a shove towards the door, Ishizu following him as they nearly ran from the room.

He managed to make it out into the corridor before slumping against the wall, aware that his hands were shaking. The Pharaoh shook his head, turning to look towards where his two companions gestured at him to hurry up. He pushed away from the wall, sprinting to catch up to them as he heard a screech come from behind him. Mrs. Chono was calling the other Krillitanes to get rid of them.

The Pharaoh glanced over his shoulder, seeing Mrs. Chono step out of the doorway to the computer lab, smiling. He recognized the look as one of victory, tensing at that. Just because he had fallen for her promises once, didn't mean that he was beaten. He turned to look ahead of him, narrowing his eyes as he came up with a plan. If they were to be hunted, then it would be easy to draw all of the Krillitanes to where he wanted them; all he had to do was to lead them to the kitchen. Once their own oil was dropped on them, they would react to it, exploding violently. But the students were still in the building, the one problem with their plan.

He cursed, stumbling to a stop as he rounded the corner, staring at the three bat creatures that were in the hall. The Pharaoh grabbed the back of Yugi and Ishizu's shirts, pulling them back as the bat creatures twitched, still shedding their human forms. He glanced around, spotting another hallway and pushing them in that direction. They broke into a full out sprint as they rushed down the hallway, the Pharaoh aware of the steady beat of wings behind them that told of the Krillitane's approach. He turned his head to look back over his shoulder, glancing forward again just in time to jump over K-9, losing his balance on the other side and tumbling to the floor.

There was the distinct sound of a laser being fired, the Pharaoh scrambling up as K-9 began to roll back down the hall in reverse. He reached out for the first hand offered to him, pulling himself completely upright before looking around. From his place in the hall, Joey waved at him, the Pharaoh raising an eyebrow at the blonde before walking closer, glancing back to where K-9 was holding off the Krillitanes. The robot dog wouldn't be able to do that for much longer; he had only repaired K-9 enough to run the basic systems again. The battery was K-9's real problem, the old one failing quickly, and firing lasers was a huge drain. They had to make the most of their distraction.

"Joey," the blonde turned, "get the kids out of here."

"What?"

"Get them out of here, even the ones in the labs. Unplug the computers or something." The Pharaoh began walking quickly in the direction of the cafeteria. "Just get them out of here."

Joey nodded and disappeared down a side hall, the fire alarm blaring through the halls a moment later. The Pharaoh smiled, glancing back to see that Krillitanes were clutching their heads and screeching in pain. That would keep them distracted and get the students out of the building. The Pharaoh reached for Yugi, grabbing his hand and nearly towing him down the hall as the students began to rush from their classrooms, fighting against the flow. Ahead, he could see Ishizu frantically waving them on.

They pushed through the mass of students, finally breaking free as they neared the cafeteria doors. The Pharaoh got a glimpse of Joey rushing out of one of the classrooms close by, the blonde giving him a quick thumbs up before turning around to shout back into the classroom. "Out, now!"

He waved at the human before yanking open the doors, ushering Ishizu and Yugi into the cafeteria. He hesitated outside of the large room long enough for K-9 to trundle in before quickly shutting the door. The Pharaoh braced himself against the door, fumbling for his sonic screwdriver when the door flew inward. He was thrown backwards, grunting as he hit the floor before rolling. The Pharaoh looked up; watching as the Krillitanes slowly moved in, shaking their heads as the fire alarm continued to blare out in the hall. The Time Lord scrambled to his feet, almost falling over before running for the kitchens, Ishizu already hidden behind the counter there.

The Pharaoh paused, turning around to look for Yugi, finally spotting his companion running for cover under the next table, pursued by a Krillitane. The Pharaoh pushed back on the door that led to the kitchen, holding it open as Yugi sprinted towards him, reaching out to pull the human into the room as one of the Krillitanes swooped down. They both tumbled to the floor, Yugi yelping and curling up in a ball as they hit the floor, his hand clamped over his arm.

"Yugi?"

"Just a scratch." Yugi smiled up at him before sitting up, taking his hand from the rip in his clothes, a thin line of blood on his arm. Both of them sighed, Yugi raising one hand to play with the collar around his neck before following the Pharaoh back into the room, both of them jumping as K-9 followed them.

The Pharaoh glanced back at the door, hearing the hisses and screams of the Krillitanes as they regrouped, still mostly debilitated by the fire alarm. But that was only giving him a few minutes to work. He gritted his teeth and moved through the kitchen, quickly locating the yellow barrels that held the oil. He glanced around before beginning to shove them closer together, Yugi jumping in to help him out. They pushed the barrels into a close cluster, the Pharaoh looking up as the Krillitanes began to file in, Mrs. Chono leading them in her human form.

He tensed at the sight of the woman, Mrs. Chono giving him a bright smile. "And we meet again, Pharaoh. I would have thought that you would have had the intelligence to leave the school by now or have you changed your mind."

"I haven't."

"And what an effort it takes to admit that." She sauntered over, the Pharaoh retreating. "I know I had you, you were ready to join our side. Isn't it sad? The last Time Lord brought to his knees by a simple proposal, something that wasn't a lie at all. And you were stupid enough to refuse."

"All things have their end."

"They don't have to." She gave a disappointed sigh, spinning around as some of the Krillitanes took to the air with a shriek. K-9 barreled through the mass, coming to a slow stop by the Pharaoh. The Time Lord winced as he heard the grind of gears, noticing that the robot dog was slowing down dangerously; they had a matter of minutes before his battery died. The Pharaoh looked back up at the Krillitane leader, the woman taking a step back with a hiss.

"Out! Everyone out!" The Pharaoh turned around as he shouted the order, watching Ishizu take off, Yugi hesitating a moment before following her, the Time Lord watching him before dropping to his knees beside K-9. He kept his eyes on the Krillitanes, realizing that they were all gathering themselves back together. There was no time to use the sonic, which only left K-9. The Pharaoh swallowed and stood up, going to back away when K-9 twitched in place, the Time Lord looking down at the dog.

"Master, it would be best to position me close to the barrels, for the optimum shot."

The Pharaoh gave a small shake of his head, aware that the Krillitanes were watching him closely. "That would put you directly in the center of the blast."

"My batteries could not sustain anything from a further distance." He started at the robot dog, feeling his throat tighten. Even without his order, K-9 was getting into place, another friend that he would lose. The Pharaoh resisted the urge to run at the thought, wanting to see if there was anything that he could do for K-9. "Farewell, master."

The Time Lord stumbled backwards as K-9 fired, the barrels exploding and the oil landing on the Krillitanes. The creatures began to shriek, the Pharaoh staring at Mrs. Chono for a moment before turning and running as fast as he could. He dodged through the shelves of the kitchen, hearing the screams of the Krillitanes growing louder. The Time Lord reached out and flung open the door, not bothering to close it behind him as he raced out into the school yard, managing to get a good distance from the building before it exploded, the Pharaoh thrown to the ground.

He rolled to a stop, his arms protecting his head as he curled on the ground, panting for breath and listening to the beat of his hearts, watching the fire flicker through the open doorway. The Pharaoh flinched and closed his eyes again, his arms slipping from their place on his head and neck. "Good dog."

"Pharaoh!" He looked up as his name was called, seeing that Ishizu was hurrying over to him. He picked himself off the ground, brushing the dust from his coat before walking towards her, forcing a faint smile on his face. Ishizu slowed down at the sight of him moving, visibly relaxing before looking around, the Pharaoh tensing as she looked at him again. "Where's K-9?"

"I-"

"You left him in there?" Ishizu took one look back at the school before shaking her head. "You _left_ him in there. After everything?"

"Ishizu-"

"You…" She stared at him before turning around and storming off, the Pharaoh watching her go before hanging his head, looking at the burning school. In the distance, he could hear fire engines coming to the scene, reminding himself to get out of here as soon as possible before he was questioned; he avoided the authorities on principle, but something pulled him to stay here.

He rubbed his eyes before turning to trudge to the front of the school, relieved to see the mass of children standing there. He looked around, trying to spot Joey, wanting to ask if all of the children had gotten out. The blonde was standing on the edge of the group with Yugi, the shorter human looking nearly frantic. The Pharaoh started walking towards them, smiling when he saw Yugi look his way. The human gave a sigh of relief before waving sheepishly. The Pharaoh sped up, decreasing the distance between them and sweeping Yugi up into a hug.

His companion clung to him for a moment before wiggling out of the embrace, looking around in confusion. "Where's Ishizu?"

"Gone for now."

"K-9?"

The Pharaoh glanced miserably at the building, catching Yugi wincing out of the corner of his eye. Instead of yelling at him, like the Time Lord expected, Yugi just reached out to hold his hand. The Pharaoh glanced down at their hands, surprised when Yugi gave a brief squeeze before he turned his attention back to the school. They would have to leave soon, with all the firefighters coming in, but he didn't want to leave K-9 here, even though he knew that there would be nothing left of the faithful robot dog.

"Can you rebuild him?" He looked over at Yugi, the human turning to look at him. The Pharaoh stared at Yugi for a long time before finally nodded, his companion smiling at that.

It was Yugi who finally dragged him away, talking about a long walk back to the apartments, something that the Pharaoh didn't mind. Joey had already gone ahead, probably to reassure Junri that her son had not died. The Pharaoh winced at that, mentally calculating how many explosions that he had caused Yugi to be in, stopping his count quickly; he didn't like to think about things like that. He dropped his gaze to his feet as he walked.

"So, it's going to be a late night for you?"

"Yeah." The Pharaoh looked up at Yugi, smiling at his companion. "Luckily, I don't need that much sleep."

"Really?"

"Four hours usually, more if I leave if off for too long, less if I take cat naps." He offered a shaky smile, hoping that Yugi wouldn't dig deeper. It had been a long time since he had slept last, not wanting to face the nightmares and the ghosts that came when he closed his eyes. He was the Pharaoh, the Oncoming Storm and the Destroyer of Worlds; he deserved all the nightmares that he got.

"You're weird."

The Pharaoh looked at Yugi, thankful that the statement would be all that he got on the subject. He tipped his head to the side before smiling. "I'm alien. To me, this is normal. You, on the other hand, are weird."

Yugi just smiled back at him, glancing ahead before clearing his throat. "Thanks for telling me…about what happened on Satellite 5." The Pharaoh was shocked by the sudden change of subject, not showing it on his face as he watched Yugi. "It…it helped a lot with some things."

"Things?"

The human blushed but nodded, clearing his throat again before returning his gaze to the ground. "Yeah, just some things."

"Do I get to know what kind of things?" There was silence in answer to his question, the Pharaoh eventually giving up on an answer. He would allow Yugi to keep his thoughts to himself, especially with the content of the information that he had delivered. It must have been shocking to Yugi to realize that he had given up his life to allow Yugi to live. The Pharaoh fought the urge to flinch, secretly hoping that Yugi didn't read that as romantic and got scared away or withdrew from him. Regeneration had only changed his body and outward personality, there were still some things that remained the same; like how he adored Yugi.

He pulled his mind from that familiar path, not wanting to get lost in that circle again. Many nights had been spend on the TARDIS, pacing up and down the corridors as he tried to argue himself out of loving the human, but it had never worked. It was best if he tried to distance himself, in case Yugi couldn't wrap his mind around the idea. He knew Yugi was smart, but human emotions were never meant to handle something like him; it would just end up confusing Yugi and breaking his heart, especially if he was careless. The Pharaoh tensed at the thought, reminding himself firmly to be more careful, something that he wasn't quite sure that he would be able to do. But he wanted this regeneration to last, for Yugi's sake.

They remained silent until they got back to the lot, the Pharaoh heading for the TARDIS, surprised when Yugi followed. He would have thought that the human would have gone up to his mother, just to prove that he was alright. He glanced back at his companion, seeing Yugi smile and shrug. The Pharaoh, confused on how to take that, just opened the door to the TARDIS. "You coming?"

"I'll go and help, Mom. Call you up for dinner?"

The Pharaoh hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Sure."

"Alright." Yugi glanced up at his apartment for a moment before shifting nervously. Before the Pharaoh had a chance to ask what was wrong, Yugi had turned and kissed him quickly. The Time Lord went still, watching Yugi with wide eyes as his companion jogged off. He stumbled backward, leaning against the door of the time machine as he stared at Yugi's back. That had been completely unsuspected and very welcome. He swallowed before backing into his ship, looking around the huge interior before heading back to the room where he kept all of his spare parts. It wouldn't take too long to create a new K-9, probably a better model that would last Ishizu longer.

But his thoughts refused to stay on task, even as he walked towards where the room was. He slowed as he passed Yugi's room, looking into the empty room despite himself. As usual, Yugi had just jumped out of bed, not bothering to fix the covers. He blushed as he thoughts turned towards other activities that would have messed up the covers quite effectively, turning abruptly and walking faster towards his work room, trying to get the images out of his mind; the images of Yugi under him, begging and writhing and…The Pharaoh stopped to lean against the wall, glaring up at the TARDIS, even though he knew that his ship was not behind this. He pointed up at the ceiling. "No."

The TARIDS whined, pushing at his conscious impatiently. He glared up at the ceiling and shook his head. "I said no and I meant it. Yugi has to make the choice himself. Besides I'm sure that there are other…" He coughed, trying to get the words out before failing completely, feeling the TARDIS gloating in his head. "You know it's not right. It's against all of the rules."

There was more nudging in his mind, the TARDIS trying to get him to admit something. The Time Lord just shrugged, turning into his work room. He was slightly annoyed for a moment when the TARDIS remained in close contact; the time machine would usually leave him alone when he was in here, knowing that he needed his full concentration on whatever he was working on. He went to tell her off when she poked at him again, replying the images that he had tried to escape from earlier. "I said no! There is no way I can! I promised him…and it is against all of the rules…I'm a Time Lord, he's a human!"

He reached back to cling to the counter there, feeling himself tremble. "I don't want to watch him die!"

The TARDIS remained silent in his mind, the ship giving off a gentle hum to calm him down, the Pharaoh shaking as he leaned against the counter, his chin resting against his chest. Slowly he moved, wrapping his arms around himself, his fingers digging into his arms as the tried to get control of himself. There had been no reason to lash out at the TARDIS like that; she was just trying to help him. It was just too easy for her to forget that Yugi was human, he would die long before the Time Lord and that was just if that fragment didn't kill him.

Finally, the TARDIS retreated from his mind, the Pharaoh looking up guiltily at the move. He had probably hurt the ship's feelings with his outburst or he had reminded her that Yugi wasn't going to be around forever. The TARDIS had a habit of liking his companions and moping when they left, he was the same in a way, but he forced himself to move on. He flinched at the thought of moving on, turning and beginning to work on the new model of K-9, hoping that it would be enough to keep him occupied and to keep his thoughts away from Yugi's impending doom.

Some part of his mind tried to remind him that the fragment wasn't fatal, that he didn't know what it was, but he could easily override that thought. It would take him less than a minute to list off twenty different things that could inhabit the mind of a human and be fatal, and that was just off the top of his head. Humans, for all their resilience, were not meant to have their minds tampered with; they were delicate. Even if the fragment had been benign, he hadn't had the chance to examine before Cassandra had taken possession of Yugi, so there was no telling what damage she would have caused to him.

His hand shook, the Pharaoh glaring at it before tightening his grip on the sonic, suddenly cursing himself for falling in love with Yugi. He should have known better than to do that, with his life and the human's short lifespan, he would have had his heart broken eventually. And that kiss, by all the gods, why did Yugi have to do that? Did he know what he was doing? The Pharaoh ran a hand through his hair, staring at the scattered pieces of metal without really seeing them. Yugi was going to be his downfall and he couldn't stop himself from loving the human.

The Pharaoh gave a long sigh and went back to work, trying to move as fast as he could so his thoughts couldn't linger on any other subjects for too long. He just wanted to lose himself before he was forced to confront what was happening to Yugi again.

* * *

Yugi smiled and waved to Ishizu, the woman looking surprised to see him. He saw her gaze flicker over to the Pharaoh, Ishizu looking like she wanted to run. Yugi didn't give her the chance, walking up to her with a wide smile. She hesitated the closer he got to her, Yugi shaking his head and giving a laugh. "At least come and say good-bye. I had to argue with him all morning to even get him to come here."

Ishizu gave a shaky smile before following Yugi, the woman relaxing the closer they got to the Pharaoh, the Time Lord leaning casually back against the TARDIS, staring at a bunch of flowers. He looked up as Ishizu and Yugi approached, pushing away from the time machine and standing up straight. Yugi smiled at the move, giving the Pharaoh a reassuring nod. It had really taken him most of the morning to convince the Pharaoh that delivering K-9 in person would be better than just dropping him off for Ishizu and going back to their adventures. The Pharaoh would regret never saying goodbye to his former companion. In the end, Yugi had resorted to pouting and looking cute, something that he hated to do but promised quick results. And, in the end, he had gotten what he wanted, and that was all that mattered.

"Hey." He smiled as the Pharaoh gave a wave, retreating to the TARDIS doors to leave them alone for a bit, but reluctant to go back inside in case the Pharaoh took the chance to run. And, from the look that Ishizu gave him, she was glad as well. Between the two of them, they could handle the Pharaoh and all of his craziness. If not, Yugi could always lock the door of the TARDIS and beg her not to let the Pharaoh in. He was sure that the TARDIS would agree with him on that. The Pharaoh already had enough emotional baggage, nine hundred some odd years if he remembered right.

Ishizu looked at him before shaking her head. "Well, this is you leaving again."

"Yes." The Pharaoh looked over at the TARDIS before glancing back at Ishizu. "You could come to, if you want. There's no Gallifrey to run off to, so you're free to come with me…for old times sake."

She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. "I can't, not anymore. I have a job and a life here, Pharaoh. I just can't leave it. Besides, I'm getting old."

"No you're not."

"Pharaoh." Both Yugi and the Pharaoh winced at the sharpness in her tone, the Time Lord looking at his companion before staring at the ground. Ishizu shivered and continued. "I understand why you do this, why you run. You don't want to watch us age and die and I understand now. I won't let you torment yourself with that. Besides, you need someone competent on Earth to keep tabs on things."

"Ishizu…I…"

"Pharaoh, sometimes it's best to let some things go. We're both too old not to know that." Yugi tensed as she looked at him, the Pharaoh following her gaze before looking at the ground again. Yugi wasn't sure what to make of the move, frowning as he tried to figure it out.

"Well, I came to say that I'll see you soon."

"No." Ishizu took a deep breath, relaxing slightly. "Just tell me good-bye this time. I don't want to wait like this again."

"I…" The Pharaoh stopped and smiled. "Alright then. Good-bye, Ishizu."

"Good-bye to you too, Pharaoh." She smiled at him, the Pharaoh turning to go into the TARDIS, Yugi letting him walk by, knowing where he was going. Sitting somewhere on the other side of the console was a brand new K-9 model, a gift for the former companion. Yugi smiled as he watched the Pharaoh, distracted when Ishizu came over and leaned up against the TARDIS with him. He looked over at her, raising an eyebrow when she seemed nervous. Ishizu stared at him for a while before glancing at the open door of the TARDIS. "You going with him?"

"Of course." Yugi smiled, glancing up at the sky. "I've got more to see out there before I decided to call it quiets…if I decide to leave." He hesitated, looking slowly down at Ishizu, almost afraid of what she was going to say. "Should I leave?"

"No. Oh God no." Ishizu laughed at that, waving one hand dismissively. "If anything, you should stay as long as you can. If there is anything I regret, it was complaining the entire time I was with him. You're stupid when you're young."

"Hey."

"No offense." She pulled a piece of her hair out of her face with a smile. "Stay with him as long as you can and _enjoy_ life for a bit; think of it as a reward for being able to keep up with him. Come back if you have to, because it hits you hard this life. You wake up one morning and realize that there won't be anymore adventures, no more of that wondrous man. If that happens, call me and we'll talk."

Yugi took a shaky breath, reaching into his pocket to hand her his cell phone, watching as she put in her information and trying to quell the twisting of his stomach. Something in him rebelled at the thought of coming back to Earth and living the life he was supposed to. He just felt like it was better for him to stay with the Pharaoh, he would do more good helping save worlds than sitting around behind a desk or a counter. Suddenly, normal life was the scariest thing he had ever faced. Still wrestling with these thoughts, the accepted the cell phone, glancing at the contact information before saving it, looking up at Ishizu again. "I will. Maybe we could start a support group for people like us. We could get over our Pharaoh abandonment issues."

That got another laugh from the woman, Ishizu shaking her head before glancing back at the TARDIS, both of them backing out of the way as the Pharaoh struggled out with the robot dog in his arms; Yugi looking over at Ishizu as she gave a gasp. The woman's face was filled with shock at first, but then it lit up in delight, Ishizu kneeling on the ground and resting a hand on the new version of K-9. "Is this…Did you…Oh my God…"

"Glad to have made you speechless for once." The Pharaoh gave her a happy smile before crouching down next to her, resting a hand on the dog's metal back. The smile disappeared from his face as he looked from the dog to Ishizu. "This is just to…as an…Ishizu, he told me that there was no other choice and I couldn't stop him."

"Loyal to you to the end." The Pharaoh looked away at that, Ishizu not noticing it as she continued to pet the robot dog. "And it looks like a new model. Gone and replaced the old one, have you?"

"I had to because off the-Well, he has a better battery, something that can be charged on something like a cell phone charger. He has new programs including-"

"He's gone and replaced the old one." Ishizu nodded slowly with a knowing smile, nudging Yugi. "He does that sometimes."

Yugi found that he couldn't laugh at the joke, too focused on the look of shock on the Pharaoh's face. He realized that the Pharaoh was just thinking over Ishizu' words and coming to the conclusion that she was right. He ducked his head, Yugi reaching out to rest his hand over the Pharaoh's letting it sit there as he looked back at Ishizu, surprised that she hadn't noticed. She was probably too focused on the new version of K-9, and he couldn't blame her for that.

The Pharaoh cleared his throat, moving his hand out from under Yugi's. The Time Lord hesitated for a moment before leaning forward. "You know, you could always come with me. There's no reason for you to remain behind."

Ishizu glanced up at him, her smile disappearing. She looked down almost immediately, gently placing with one of K-9's ears. "There is this time. I've got a life here now, Pharaoh, and I couldn't keep up with you anymore."

"You did fine."

"This time, but there might be a time where I won't be able to keep up. And then…" Ishizu gave a shrug. "I'm getting old, Pharaoh. Time stops for no man."

"Ishizu…"

"This is good-bye, Pharaoh. I told you that I couldn't do this anymore. I can't keep waiting for you to show up; I need to live this life." She took a deep breath before standing up. "I had fun, when we traveled together, but everything has to end sometime."

The Pharaoh stared at her before nodding, slowly standing up as well before taking a step back. "Well, take care of yourself, Ishizu, you and K-9."

"Same to you, Pharaoh." She gave a shaky smile before stepping back, jumping as K-9 made a whirring sound, coming to life and looking at the both of them. The robot dog's tail giving a wag before it trundled over to Ishizu' side, the woman smiling and leaning over to pet K-9's head. "Come on K-9, we've got work to do."

She gave a wave to them before walking away, K-9 at her heels. Yugi thought he saw and extra bounce to her step, confused by that since she had just denied the chance of a lifetime. But, then again, she had finally gotten over being left behind by the Pharaoh. It was a strange thing to think about and an even stranger victory. Yugi shrugged and looked back at the Pharaoh, reaching out for his hand at his heartbroken expression. "You didn't replace her."

"I know. You all are hard to replace." The Pharaoh glanced down at him with a smile before turning and walking back towards the TARDIS, Yugi taking a moment to take a deep breath. The flowers in the park were just beginning to bloom, and Yugi could get the faintest scent of them. It was the scent of home, something he wanted to remember for a long time; he was not about to give up the chance that he had here, and the Pharaoh would understand. Yugi smiled to himself, tipping his head back, allowing himself this one moment before he turned around, about to walk into the TARDIS when he heard someone shout.

"Yugi! Hey Yug' wait up!" He turned around at the call, his eyes widening as he saw Joey running towards the TARDIS with a backpack on his back. The blonde rushed over, grabbing onto one of the corners of the time machine to steady himself as he panted for breath. Yugi stared at his friend for a while before shaking his head.

"What's the rush, Joey?"

"I just didn't want you to leave without me." Joey gave Yugi a quick smile before going back to trying to catch his breath. Yugi shifted his weight, waiting Joey out. He was giving the Pharaoh a few moments before the Time Lord came out to see what was taking him so long. The Pharaoh had the strange idea that he tended to wander off, the very thought making Yugi want to laugh. He stifled the sound, watching as Joey stood up and cleared his throat. "So, we going?"

"You want to come with us?" Joey nodded, looking miserable, Yugi staring at his friend. "But I thought you had things to do here and…and…Who's going to look after my mom?"

"I think your mom can take care of herself, Yug'." The blonde rubbed the back of his neck, glancing around at the park before looking back at the time machine. "I just need to get away. All the jobs that I've tried have fallen through and there's this girl…"

"The cute secretary?"

"Yeah, her. She keeps pressing me and I'm not over Mai yet. Damn that woman, but I'm still thinking about her and I can't let her go. I just need to forget for a bit Yugi, take a break before coming back to real life."

Yugi bit his lip, edging back to the open door. "Are you sure? It's pretty dangerous out there."

"If you can handle it Yug', I can."

"Alright, don't say I didn't warn you." Yugi rolled his eyes and peeked into the console room, catching the Pharaoh as he was coming down the ramp. Yugi just smiled and stepped into the time machine, Joey following close after. The Time Lord looked between the two, obviously waiting for an explanation. He sighed and shook his head, motioning towards Joey. "He wants to come along."

"Yugi…"

"Not for long, Pharaoh, just a little vacation." He moved up the ramp, stopping to glare at the Pharaoh as the Time Lord pouted. "At least it's not my mother."

"Ra forbid your mother ever stepping on my TARDIS again."

"She's my mother!"

"I'm sure she's a very nice lady, but I've been slapped and flirted with and I still don't know what's worse." The Pharaoh turned to go back to the console. "In short, keep her away from me."

"You big baby."

"Hey!"

Yugi laughed, flopping down in the captain's chair and looking back at Joey, his friend looking around the TARDIS. Yugi caught the Pharaoh's gaze, jerking his head in Joey's direction. "And the verdict is?"

The Pharaoh turned to look at Joey, staring at the blonde for a long while before heaving a sigh. "He can come. Just show him to his room and remind him not to wander off. Maybe he can keep tabs on you."

"Hey!"

"I'm sick of having to rescue you, Yugi."

He laughed, getting up off the captain's chair and sauntering over to the Pharaoh, part of him wondering why he was doing this. Yugi tried to shove away his nervousness, nearly failing when the Pharaoh looked up at him. It took all he had not to shy away, leaning against the Pharaoh. "You like it."

He felt the Pharaoh stiffen, Yugi suddenly embarrassed by his blatant flirting. He turned away quickly, waving Joey up the ramp towards the door that led to the rest of the TARDIS, unable to look back up at the Pharaoh. He couldn't believe that he had just done that, even after all of the worrying that he had been doing; it just didn't make any sense to him. Of course it was easy to slip back into the same pattern that they had existed with before, but Yugi could see it for what it was now, flirting that the both of them had ignored. But now, now he couldn't quite ignore it like he could before. Now he knew that the Pharaoh had saved his life knowing that he would die, and that sounded suspiciously close to what someone would do for someone they loved. He rubbed a hand over his face, confusing himself more.

It was alright to admit that he liked this Pharaoh, that he was slowly getting over his loss of the old Pharaoh; that was just natural. It had taken him this long to fall back into their old rhythm, glad that it had returned. It was alright to admit that he could see that there were still moments when they were the same. But it didn't seem right to jump from liking this version of the Pharaoh to wanting to flirt with him because of that, Yugi didn't want to move that fast; if anything, the thought of admitting anything to the Time Lord scared him.

Yugi looked up as the TARDIS opened a door in front of him, stepping around it to gesture at the room. "Here's yours. Mine could be down the hall…or somewhere."

"Somewhere?"

"I'll find it eventually." Yugi glanced up and down the hall, not spotting his white door. Then again, the TARDIS could have moved it back for another room since he had no intention of going to sleep yet. He was far too used to the TARDIS shifting rooms as they needed it to get too worried.

He ignored Joey's incredulous expression to flop down on his friend's bed, staring up at the ceiling. It took a few moments for Joey to join him, Yugi looking down occasionally to watch as Joey moved around the room, reacquainting himself with everything. He sat up as Joey sat down on the edge of the bed; glad that his friend looked happy, the TARDIS would like that he was happy.

"It's perfect."

"The TARDIS does that, peeks into your head for this." Yugi laughed as Joey paled. "No, not too deep. She won't do that unless you want her to. She respects your privacy," he paused for a moment as he heard a creak in the hallway, "unlike some aliens."

The Pharaoh peeked into the room, Joey jumping as the Time Lord appeared. Yugi just leveled a glare at him, the Pharaoh shrugging. "I just came to tell you that we'll be in the time vortex for a while, the TARDIS needs something to cool down before we continue on."

"Something?" Joey leaned forward, looking worried. "You're not going to tell us what it is?"

"I would tell you, but it wouldn't make any sense."

Joey narrowed his eyes at the challenge, Yugi heaving a sigh at that. "Try me."

The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow, leaning on the frame of the door. "It's the connection between the zig-zag plotter and the linear coordination drive. It needs to cool down or we'll lose shielding to the TARDIS momentarily. And that's something that I don't want to have to deal with."

Yugi glanced over at Joey, expecting the blank look of confusion that he saw there. He looked back over at the Pharaoh with a shrug, the Time Lord smirking with his small victory. Yugi ignored the Time Lord for a moment, slipping from the bed and shaking Joey's shoulder. "Basically, this is where you eat, shower and sleep. If you need time to do any of those, just tell the Pharaoh, he'll make sure to give us the time."

The Pharaoh snorted at this, Yugi walking over to him to give a friendly shove, noticing that Joey was moving around again. The blonde looked completely lost and out of place, Yugi feeling momentarily sorry for his friend, but he shook that off. Joey would get used to this soon enough, it was easy to adapt to. He smiled at Joey as the blonde looked his way. "The door there is probably a bathroom; the TARDIS likes to let everyone have their privacy. If you need to go anywhere, the TARDIS will show you the way, usually with lights on the ground."

"How many rooms are on this ship?"

"I don't know." The Pharaoh answered for Yugi, the two humans staring at the alien. The Time Lord just shrugged and stepped back out into the hall. "And I've had her for years. Of course, I've had to jettison a few rooms every once and a while, but she always replaces them, eventually."

"She won't let you get lost Joey. She's nice like that. Him on the other hand," Yugi gave the Pharaoh a long look, "he might do it just because he's having a bad day."

"Hey!"

"See you in a bit!" Yugi waved and walked out of the room, shutting the door. He was surprised to hear whistling coming from the room, the sound starting up after a moment of hesitation. He stood in the hallway, staring at the nondescript brown door; Joey almost never whistled unless he was relaxed. It was strange to think that what essentially amounted to running away from his problems was helping Joey. Yugi shrugged and turned away, not surprised to see that the Pharaoh wasn't in the hallway anymore. He was probably off somewhere in the TARDIS.

He glanced down at the floor under his shoes, biting his lip as he thought before looking up again. The lights flickered on, Yugi reaching out to pat the wall before following them, surprised when they lead a few feet down the hall, finding himself staring at a partially opened door. The dark wood was covered in carvings, Yugi reaching out to brush over an elaborate infinity sign in a circle, his attention attracted by what looked like a house crest when the Pharaoh shouted, "Come in!"

Yugi hesitated for a moment before opening the door the rest of the way, the Pharaoh seeming to be surprised to see Yugi at the door. The Time Lord stared at him for a minute, Yugi sure that the Pharaoh would speak to him, surprised when the Time Lord turned away to stare at something that he held in his hands. Yugi stood on the threshold of the room a moment more before carefully walking in. "Hi."

"Hello. You need something?"

"No. I just wondered where you went." Yugi glanced around, taking in the adobe walls, the bottom half made of a strange reddish stone. The upper half was decorated with elaborate drawings of everyday life, Yugi seeing the house crest that he had seen on the door repeated a few times. He walked further into the room, spotting a desk and a low table, both carved out of the same dark wood as the door. Another door was tucked away in a corner, Yugi's gaze drawn away from that to the bed that stood against one wall. He stared at the elaborate design on the red silk, seeing the house crest there again, surprised at the simplicity of the bed itself. When he had imagined the Pharaoh's room, he had expected something more out of a medieval fantasy. "Is this your room?"

"Yeah." The Pharaoh spoke the word with a sigh, Yugi turning his gaze away from one of the paintings to look at the Pharaoh, watching the Time Lord slouch. He swallowed nervously before going over to sit on the bed next to the Pharaoh, glancing across the room to see what the Pharaoh was staring at, surprised to see a young man with long black hair painted on the wall. The Pharaoh must have noticed his gaze because he spoke again. "That's Mokuba."

"Mokuba?"

"He is…was my little brother."

Yugi bit his lip and stared down at his hands. So this was part of the family that the Pharaoh never talked about, probably because it still hurt. The Pharaoh lived with knowing that he had killed his family, Yugi not able to comprehend exactly how he managed to live knowing that. He still had nightmares about his grandfather's second death to save him. He shivered at the pang of guilt that passed through him at the thought, wrapping his arms around himself. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah."

"That's not enough, is it?"

"Probably not." The Pharaoh slumped a bit. "It doesn't matter."

"It does. He was your brother. Of course it matters."

The Pharaoh looked over at him, Yugi seeing the pain in his gaze. He turned away, instead staring at the silk covering on the bed, reaching out to trace out the hieroglyphs that made up part of the family crest, staring at the design. An hourglass took up most of the design, Yugi seeing the elaborate infinity sign in the sands that ran through the hourglass, the red and black sand twining around each other. He glanced around the edges, seeing two sheaves of red grain leaning up against the hourglass, his eyes going to the hawk that sat on the top of the hourglass, wings spread wide.

"We were the house of One Thousand Years." He jumped at the sound of the Pharaoh's voice, turning to look at the Time Lord. The alien had leaned over, his hand resting near the hawk as he stared at the image. "I was always told to be proud of my house, my standing, my history, but I was too young to care. I just saw myself being held back by their expectations and hating the way they laid out my life for me. But I still tried so hard to please them. My father wasn't really around, so I just grew up with the rest of my cousins, lumped in with all of those ambitious Time Lords…"

The Pharaoh trailed off, staring into the distance and Yugi didn't have the heart to ask him to say anymore. This was already more than what the Pharaoh had ever told him, and he didn't want to push. He knew how much it hurt the Pharaoh to talk about his home planet and the life before the war. Instead, Yugi just scooted close to him, reaching out to touch his shoulder. He was surprised when the Pharaoh turned to look at him, the two staring at each other for a moment before Yugi reacted, unable to stand the completely shattered look in the Pharaoh's eyes.

He pulled the Time Lord close to him in a hug, the two of them lying on their sides in the bed. He felt the Pharaoh tense for a moment before he wrapped his arms around Yugi, pressing his head against Yugi's shoulder. Yugi sighed, resting his chin on the Pharaoh's shoulder as he felt a shudder run through the Time Lord, feeling the Pharaoh shake as he tried to hold back tears. Yugi just ran a hand up and down his back, finding himself staring at the scenes on the walls.

The silence between them stretched on for a while, the lack of sound comfortable and strangely calming. Yugi soon felt himself drifting off, suppressing a yawn as he shifted, the Pharaoh taking the chance to move them slightly; adjusting so that Yugi was comfortable. He smiled at the move, squeezing the Pharaoh to show his gratitude before letting his eyes fall shut. Yugi drifted on the line between asleep and awake for a moment, faintly feeling a kiss placed on his forehead before he slipped into sleep.

* * *

 _Please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome._


	14. The Girl in the Fireplace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Chapter Thirteen: The Girl in the Fireplace**

**Chapter Thirteen: The Girl in the Fireplace**

" _That's the way it's always been. The monsters and the Doctor. It seems you cannot have one without the other._ _"_

-Reinette

"Uh…Yug'?" The Pharaoh blearily opened one eye, staring at the door before curling closer around the pillow that he held. He hadn't even been aware that he was tired, but he had managed to sleep for a while, hopefully long enough for that connection to cool down, then they could be off. The knocking got louder, the Pharaoh tempted to storm over to the door and yell at Joey for disturbing him; this had been his first good sleep without nightmares, he wanted to prolong it a bit longer. "Yug'? I tried looking for you and the Pharaoh, but I keep being led here."

The Pharaoh rolled his eyes, shifting back into his comfortable position curled around the pillow. The TARDIS would wake him up if she needed him, or when the connection cooled down. Although, he suspected that she would hold off telling him until he got the rest he needed, the TARDIS tended to mother him like that. Instead of getting annoyed, the Pharaoh just yawned, he would talk to her later or when he felt like it. Right now, he just wanted to go back to sleep for a bit.

"Nngh. Tell Joey to be quiet. Sleeping." Yugi voice came from the pillow that he was holding, the Time Lord nodding absently, but not moving. The pillow in his arms shifted, rising partially off the bed before flopping back down, the Pharaoh not bothering to open his eyes to see what had annoyed his pillow. "Too far away. TARDIS, tell Joey to go away."

There was silence after that, the Pharaoh about to congratulate his ship when he heard the creak of a door. His sleepy mind didn't quite discern what made the sound fast enough, the Pharaoh wondering why his door was open as he heard Joey yelp. "Oh geez, sorry Yug'. I'll just…I'm…Bye."

The Pharaoh sat up, reluctantly letting go of his pillow as he saw Joey rush back into the hall, grumbling as he realized that he would never get back to sleep now. Absently he checked with the TARDIS on how the connection was doing, not surprised when she informed him that it had been done for a few hours. He didn't bother to scold her, knowing that it would do nothing. The TARDIS had the strange idea that he couldn't take care of himself properly, so she made it her mission to make sure he was cared for. As long as it didn't interfere with anything, the Pharaoh didn't mind the mothering; it felt nice to have someone care about him.

The Time Lord slid out of his bed, stretching and turning in place, trying to remember why he had remained in his room in the first place; usually he would try to find a place to sleep away from the images of Gallifrey. He frowned, his gaze dropping back to his bed, staring in shock at the thing that he had been cuddling. He hadn't been curled around a pillow, he had been curled around his companion, the same companion that was looking up at him with a mix of surprise and horror, the same expression that the Pharaoh guessed that he had on his face.

It was a few moments before the Pharaoh managed to get over his shock, clearing his throat and looking away. He could hear Yugi scrambling to get out of the bed, lifting his head slightly to see Yugi walking out of his room, neither of them knowing how to address what had happened. While nothing had been done to change what they were, it was a surprise to the Pharaoh. Because of a human, he had managed to get the sleep that he so desperately needed. It sounded ridiculously like a fairy tale, that this one human was able to stop the nightmares, but it had worked for whatever reason; the same human that was slowly coaxing more about Gallifrey from him.

The Pharaoh hummed to himself, straightening out his shirt before attempting to leave the room, glaring at the door that had swung shut in his face. After a moment, he turned around under the TARDIS' prompting, staring at the shirt that was laid out on the bed. He considered a mental argument with the TARDIS, but decided to skip it; he had a feeling that he had to say something to Yugi before the human went back into his shell. Yugi had done nothing wrong; apparently he had done everything right. The Pharaoh bit his lip at that, turning to look at the closed door before quickly unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it off. He reached for the new one, quickly shrugging on the dark purple shirt on and buttoning it as he walked to the door. There was a rebuke from the TARDIS, a reminder that they would have to stop for a bit, the Pharaoh rolling his eyes. Like he would forget about the humans on board. The TARDIS gave him another mental nudge; reminding him to take care of himself.

He ignored the TARDIS for now, walking out into the hall and moving towards the console room, smiling when he saw that Yugi's door was open. The Pharaoh was about to just walk in, stopped by the simple thought that Yugi could be in there naked. He didn't trust his self control that far, knowing how badly he had failed when Cassandra had been in control of Yugi's body. The Time Lord twitched slightly at the memory of those kisses, staring at the white door as he tried to calm himself again. There was nothing between him and Yugi, neither of them seemed ready to breech that line. Besides, there could be nothing between him and Yugi, they were two different species.

The door swung out a bit more, Yugi stepping from his room and staring at the Pharaoh in surprise. The Time Lord just smiled and motioned for Yugi to precede him, pausing when Yugi shifted nervously in the middle of the hall. His companion glanced toward the console room before ducking his head with a blush. "I'm sorry…a-about that."

"Don't be, it's what I needed." Yugi stared at him, the Pharaoh wondering if he could have phrased that better, only to have Yugi turn and start walking to the console room. He shrugged and went to catch up, walking past Yugi as he entered the console room. The Pharaoh saw Joey leaning back against a column, nodding at the blonde before he walked over to the console, staring at the screen. Everything seemed to be in shape and they had time for one quick adventure before he had to stop at the next bazaar planet or Earth to feed his humans. He smiled back at them before leaning against the console. "Where to?"

"Just land us." Yugi moved over to the console, stroking the coral that grew on the sides of it. "Just randomly."

"Surprising Joey?"

"Yes." They smiled at the blonde, Joey gripping the column tighter for a moment before moving to point at Yugi.

"You're downright scary when you do that."

"I learned from the best." The Pharaoh smirked at the pat on his shoulder, Yugi moving to sit in his fork, settling down for the rough transition between the time vortex and the world outside of it. He waited until he was sure that Yugi was secure, disguising his waiting by moving around the console and pretending to move things into place, pulling the lever that would send them outside of the time vortex when he was sure that Yugi was ready.

It only took him a moment to brace himself, too used to the rocking motion of the time machine to be bothered by it. Joey on the other hand stumbled away from his column, nearly falling to the floor before he managed to catch himself on something. The blonde glared at the Pharaoh, the Time Lord merely shrugging before turning back to the controls. The TARDIS vibrated slightly as it began to materialize, the Pharaoh trying to bring where they were to focus on the screen as the TARDIS settled down, not needing to know that Yugi was by his side as soon as the human felt that he could stand. He glanced over at his companion, Yugi leaning over to stare at the screen.

"So, fifty-first century?"

"Yes."

Yugi hummed and reached out to touch the screen, frowning when it flickered between English and Gallifreyan. The Pharaoh hit the edge of the screen, a little disappointed when it decided to stay stuck on Gallifreyan, putting it on his mental list of things to fix. He sighed and shrugged when Yugi looked his way, focusing on the hieroglyphics that came up on the screen. "We're not on a planet."

"Not on a…Then where did we land?" The Pharaoh answered Yugi's question with a smile, walking towards the doors. A split second decision had him forgoing his usual long coat, the Time Lord stepping out of the TARDIS into the room that they had landed in.

He turned in place as the two humans walked from the TARDIS, picking out the controls or what used to be controls and the windows that afforded a view into space. The Pharaoh shook his head and walked over to the bank of controls, pushing off the masses of wires that were scattered on the panel, seeking out the switch that would turn on the lights and the displays on the bank. He found it quickly, glancing up to see that Yugi and Joey had moved over to a window, the two men talking in low, excited voices. The Pharaoh smiled before flicking on the lights, laughing when Joey jumped. "So, you got a spaceship for your first trip."

"Lucky, I got a satellite."

"That should count, Yugi." His companion bounded up to stand beside him, sticking out his tongue. The Pharaoh ignored the gesture, his traitorous mind coming up with better uses for Yugi's tongue. He dropped his gaze back to the displays on the bank of controls, frowning when he noticed what they said. The Pharaoh leaned over the display, staring at the numbers before shaking his head. "Well, it's a dead spaceship."

"Dead!"

The Pharaoh ignored the frightened shout that Joey gave, trailing a finger down the display as he tried to figure out what was wrong with the ship, raising an eyebrow at what he was. "It's been like this for a while, but no sign of a crew or any other life…"

"It smells." Yugi snapped his fingers, the Pharaoh looking at him as the human groaned, beginning to pace. He was about to ask Yugi what was wrong when Joey took a deep breath, nodding.

"Yeah."

"It smells like someone is cooking."

"A roast!"

"Of course you would connect it to food." The Pharaoh looked over at Joey, tempering his remark with a smile. Another display caught his eye, the Time Lord moving over to stare at that one. "But the ship still has power. It's putting enough of it out to punch a hole in the universe."

"Then why don't they fly away?" Joey leaned on the console next to him, the Pharaoh glancing over at the human and rolling his eyes.

"What they? This ship is deserted."

"You mean…you landed us on a ghost ship!"

"Ghosts aren't real."

"Of course they are!"

"Just because there's no one on this ship doesn't mean that it's-"

"Fireplace." Joey and the Pharaoh turned to look at Yugi. The man shrugged and pointed to the little room on the other side of the TARDIS. The Pharaoh frowned, walking forward and staring at the ornate eighteenth century fireplace. Cautiously, he rested a hand on the mantel, surprised to feel that it was solid. He blinked, running a hand over the design that was on the upper part of the fireplace, vaguely noticing the broken clock on his side with a slow shake of his head. There was no reason for this to be here, but here it was. Then again, he had seen stranger things on other spaceships. He ran a hand down one of the sides, crouching down.

To his surprise, a fire flickered on the other side, the Pharaoh tipping his head to the side and leaning forward, surprised to see a young blonde girl staring back at him. He recoiled a bit, putting distance between the two of them so he wouldn't look too threatening. The Time Lord glanced over to his side, Yugi kneeling on the ground beside him as Joey explored the small room with a look of awe on his face. The Pharaoh looked back at the girl, surprised that she had managed to gather herself together. "What are you doing in my fireplace?"

"That doesn't matter." The Pharaoh dismissed the question before offering a cautious smile. "I'm the Pharaoh and this is Yugi. And you are…"

"Reinette." She answered after a long pause, leaning forward to try and look at the ship around the Pharaoh. After a moment, she gave up, straightening her skirts and primly placing her hands on her lap. "If you don't mind me asking, _messieurs_ , where are you?"

Yugi glanced over at the Time Lord, the Pharaoh motioning for him to remain silent. "Oh just, somewhere. We're actually just looking around here."

The girl brightened. "Are you inspecting my fireplace?"

"Something like that." Yugi gave a laugh.

"Where are you?" The Pharaoh resettled himself, watching as Reinette considered his question. She glanced down at her skirt and played with the ruffles there before finally looking up.

"I'm in my bedroom, _monsieur_. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Of course not." Yugi answered for him, scooting to the side so he could see more into Reinette's bedroom. "And it's rather pretty. But…where are you?"

The little girl laughed. "Why do you ask such strange questions?"

"Don't tell but," Yugi looked around before leaning over, "we're a little lost as well. The Pharaoh is also in charge of our transportation, and we got a little mixed up."

Reinette blushed and looked away from the Pharaoh, motioning Yugi closer. The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow, watching as Yugi moved closer to the fire, able to catch what Reinette was whispering to Yugi. "He's handsome."

"Yes, he is."

She giggled again before settling back, her head tilted up as she considered something. "It's the year of our Lord 1727 and I am in Paris."

"France?"

The Pharaoh ignored Joey's outburst, standing up to stare at the fireplace, Yugi bidding goodbye to the girl before standing up as well. The two of them leaned against the fireplace, Joey glancing between the fireplace and the window that showed the space that the ship was floating in. "So, France?"

"Yes. I did say that this ship was generating enough power to create a hole in the universe." The Pharaoh gestured at the fireplace. "Here it is."

"A magic door…"

"A spatio-temporal link."

Yugi stared at him for a while before going back to his musing. "A ship that creates _magic doors_ to France."

The Pharaoh huffed and looked away, distracted by Joey as the blonde stopped his minor panic attack. The blonde ran a hand through his hair before taking a deep breath. "She's from France, right? So how do I hear Japanese?"

"The TARDIS translates." The Pharaoh and Yugi spoke at the same time, the Time Lord pushing away from the fireplace as he studied the piece. He ran a hand along the mantel, Yugi moving out of his way as he begun another examination. "This is a door, so it should move. Why else have it here?"

"Pharaoh?" His hand slipped over something with a little bit of give, the Pharoah smirking at Yugi. His companion took a step closer to him, probably to ask another question. He didn't give Yugi the time, pushing on the section of wood.

The fireplace wiggled for a moment before slowly rotating, the two of them catching a glimpse of Joey's worried face before they were spun around into a dark room. The Pharaoh was off the fireplace before the room stopped spinning, walking carefully towards the windows. He avoided a fancy house, Yugi standing a little away from the rotating fireplace to watch him. The Pharaoh glanced over at the bed, finding that Reinette was fast asleep, carefully opening the windows to watch the snow fall onto a sleeping Paris. He shook his head, letting the curtain fall back down, freezing when he heard a gasp from behind him.

Before he could move, Yugi was already over by the bed, a huge smile on his face. "Don't worry, Reinette, it's just us. Remember? Pharaoh, I need light."

The Time Lord took out the sonic screwdriver, twisting the handle slightly to change the setting before pointing it at the candle, turning it on and watching a flame flicker to life on the wick. He smiled before pocketing the sonic again, walking over to where Yugi knelt by Reinette, the little girl calmer now that she could see them. She waved shyly to them before settling back to the pillows. "It's good to see you again."

The Pharaoh leaned over, concerned. "We just finished talking to you, but you say that like it's been years."

"It's been months." The young girl picked at her covers. "I thought I'd imagined you."

"Hm." The Pharaoh stood up, walking over to the fireplace, tapping on the mantel. If he pressed his ear against it, he could hear the faint sizzle of the energy that was flowing through the fireplace. He moved along the mantel, watching Yugi and Reinette talk, the sound of their voices accompanied by a faint ticking noise from the clock on the mantel. The Pharaoh sighed, pausing when the sizzle of energy didn't come at one spot, standing up straight and tapping on that one place again. "Loose connection, which explains the time jump."

"Well, good to know." Yugi had hopped up onto the bed, returning to his talking when Reinette. The Pharaoh smiled at the two before turning to look back at the mantel, pausing when he saw the light reflecting off the clock oddly. The Pharaoh looked carefully around the room before abandoning his place where he had found the faulty connection, walking to stare at the clock.

The clock itself was a beautiful work of art, painted gold with various angels picked out on its surface. But the Pharaoh was too focused on the face of the clock itself. Some time in its life, the clock had the glass on its face shattered by a small musket ball. The glass was fragmented, reflecting the light oddly around it. But that was not what had caught the Pharaoh's attention. He reached out carefully to touch the still hands on the clock, suddenly more aware of the ticking that filled the room. He pulled his fingers back and turned to look at Yugi and Reinette.

His companion had noticed that something was wrong, staring at him. "Pharaoh?"

"Do you hear that?"

"The ticking? Yeah."

"Well this," he pointed at the broken clock, "is the only clock in the room."

The Pharaoh saw Yugi shift like he was about to speak, the human freezing suddenly as he reached the same conclusion that the Pharaoh hand. Yugi reached out to push Reinette towards the center of the bed, the Pharaoh seeing a shiver run down Yugi's spine. "So what's making the ticking noise?"

The Time Lord shrugged, looking around the room as he reached for his sonic screwdriver. He edged over to the curtains, carefully pulling them away from the windows to check if anyone was behind him. "Reinette, stay in the middle of your bed."

Reinette nodded, grabbing fistfuls of her sheets as she trembled. Yugi smiled at her before slipping off the bed, pausing as soon as both feet touched the floor. "Pharaoh, it's louder over here…under the bed."

The Pharaoh waved Yugi away from the bed, the human stepping back as the Pharaoh sprawled out on his stomach, turning the sonic on to light his way under the bed. He caught a glimpse of a few toys that had been pushed under the bed and a book before a hand lashed out at him. The Pharaoh tumbled backwards, Yugi moving forward to catch him, motioning to Reinette to stay on the bed. He leaned back against Yugi for a moment before standing up, feeling his hearts beating fast from the scare. Yugi still clung to him, staying close as they both stared at the creature on the other side of the bed.

It was about their height, dressed in period clothes and a powdered wig, the white of the wig stark against the black of the man's jacket. But the most disturbing thing was the porcelain mask that the man wore, the face reminding the Pharaoh of a clown, but this one had a blank expression, staring at them before jerkily tipping his head to the side, the Pharaoh realizing that this wasn't a human; the movements were too jerky for that. He tensed at that, forcing him to relax a moment later as he realized that the thing wasn't going to do anything, just stand there and make that ticking noise. The noise was probably the reason that it had broken the clock; no one would question the sound of one clock in the room.

The Pharaoh kept a tight grip on the sonic as he stared at the strange creature, glancing between it and Reinette. "What are you doing here?"

The creature just tilted its head again, refusing to answer him. The Pharaoh took a step towards Reinette, watching as the creature jerked in response. So, it was protective of the girl and there had to be some reason for that. He shifted his grip on the sonic, carefully pressing his fingers, two on one side of her ears and two on the other, against her temples, closing his eyes as he accessed her recent memories. He felt Reinette struggle for a moment before she sat still, quickly finding what he was looking for. Carefully, he sifted through her recent memories, his eyes widening as he found spaces that had been clumsily smoothed over, patches that were missing.

He stepped away from Reinette, Yugi moving to take his space, holding the little girl close as he glared at the creature. The Pharaoh looked away from the two as he glared at the creature. "You've been scanning her brain, why?"

It didn't answer, just continued to stare at him. The Pharaoh's hand tightened on the sonic, about to raise it when Reineete moved out of Yugi's protective hold. "Why are you here?"

The creature twitched a bit, laboriously getting into a position where it could look at Reinette, twisting awkwardly before intoning, "You are not complete."

"Complete!" Yugi nearly snarled out the word, backing away from the bed to glare at the creature. "What does that mean?"

The creature moved, marching around the bed towards Yugi. The Pharaoh moved at the same time, stepping around from his side of the bed and pointing the sonic at the creature. It reacted as fast as he did, holding out its arm. A blade slid from the creature's sleeve, the Pharaoh tilting his head back to avoid getting his throat cut by the blade. The two stared at each other, the Pharaoh panting for breath. He swallowed slowly, glancing down at the metal extension that the blade was attached to, watching as Reinette shifted nervously on the bed, Yugi speaking up to comfort her. "Don't worry, Reinette."

"What is it?"

"It's just a monster, a nightmare." The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes, shifting slightly so he could back away quickly. He met Yugi's gaze, his companion scrambling back to the fireplace. The Pharaoh glanced back at the creature. "But even they have nightmares."

Rienette wrapped the covers more tightly around her, but that was the only sign of her terror. Her voice was steady when she spoke. "What do they fear?"

"Me." The Pharaoh moved, ducking the wild swing to his head and moving back to the fireplace. The creature kept swinging at him, seeming not to care if it got him or not. He ducked another swing, smirking when he saw that the creature's blade sink into wood of the fireplace, lunging for the switch that would turn the fireplace around. He pushed it in, clinging to the fireplace as it spun back around, watching as the creature struggled to get free.

They swung back into the small room, a nervous Joey waiting for them. The Pharaoh spared a single glance at the blonde, jumping from the spinning fireplace and lunging for on of the large guns on the wall. He scrambled for one of them, managing to unhook it from its holder before turning around and facing the creature as it got itself free. Yugi and Joey had already retreated to the walls of the small room, giving the Pharaoh enough room to work. He smiled and flicked off the safety on the gun, pressing his finger against the trigger as he pointed it at the creature, foam shooting out of the muzzle of the gun. The Time Lord circled the still twitching creature, watching as it slowed down, the fire extinguisher working quickly.

Finished, he handed the fire extinguisher to Joey, taking a step closer to the creature and whipping off its mask, not surprised when the wig came with it. He tossed them both to the side, staring at the plastic dome that covered the delicate clockwork that kept the creature moving. The Pharaoh examined the inner workings of the clockwork creature before shaking his head and taking a step back. "Repair drone."

"So…it fixes the ship?" He glanced over at Yugi, watching as the human leaned against the wall, seeming to be deep in thought. "But, if it fixes the ship, then why aren't we moving?"

The Pharaoh shrugged. "There's no crew on the ship, so they probably bailed out before now. But this thing will have to be deactivated."

He pulled out the sonic, quickly adjusting the settings and pointing it at the clockwork man, tensing when he heard it begin to click. He narrowed his eyes, taking a quick step backwards when the robot pulled itself up straight, seeming to stare at him for a moment before pressing its wrist. There was a sound like money being shaken around before he creature disappeared, the Pharaoh turning in place. He tipped his head to the side, trying to place the sensation that remained where the creature had once been standing, ignoring Joey's combined look of shock and awe. "Short range teleport, it could be anywhere by now."

"We'll ch-"

"No. Stay here." The Pharaoh walked back to the fireplace, leaning against it as he stared at the both of them. "When I come back, we'll search the ship."

He hit the section that would spin the fireplace around, getting a glimpse of Yugi's glare before he was back in Reinette's room. The Pharaoh blinked at the light that filled it, cautiously moving away from the fireplace. All the toys and trinkets that he had seen the last time were gone, the only thing familiar the furniture and the structure of the room itself. He glanced back at the fireplace with a frown, he had said there was a loose connection, maybe he had been brought in too early or too late, neither of which would do him any good. The Time Lord took a step towards the fireplace, intending to see if he could alter it when he heard someone clear their throat.

The Pharaoh froze, turning around slowly to look at the woman who was in the room. He shifted in place, edging towards his escape so he could use it if need be. "I-

"Usually imaginary friends are forgotten with age. But you have remained with me this long." She straightened out some of the fabric on her skirt, smiling as her fingers brushed over the light yellow fabric. "But I did not think you would remain the same. Yes, exactly the same as you were before."

"Reinette?" The Pharaoh found himself smiling. "You've grown."

"It's been years. I have grown older while you are impertinent enough to remain the same." She smiled at him, carefully walking over. "But I couldn't expect anything else from you, I think."

"I've got a short cut through time." The Pharaoh shrugged and looked around, trying to avoid staring at the blonde woman that stood in front of him. They were about the same height, the Pharaoh taller only by a few inches. He swallowed nervously as she stared at him, wanting to take a step back away from her. He knew what that scathing gaze meant, but he didn't know if Reinette was comparing him to the last time they had met or if she was considering him in other ways.

"Lady Poisson!"

Reinette turned to look at the door, worrying her lower lip as she looked between the Pharaoh and the door. Finally, she turned to face him, a charming smile on her face. "I had always hoped that you would return, you and your friend. Where is he now?"

"Oh, still out there…" The Pharaoh sighed and shook his head. "He's probably wandered off by now."

She laughed, shaking her head. "The memories you bring up…but there is no time for that."

"My lady! Your mother waits in the carriage!"

"A moment, please!" Reinette glared at the door before looking back at the Pharaoh. "Only one chance and so many reasons not to. But, then again, I have never listened to reason."

Before the Pharaoh could react, she had stepped towards him, trapping him between her and the fireplace. He was pulled into a kiss, his eyes widening in shock as Reinette kissed him, gentle at first and then growing in passion. He scrambled to get a hold on the fireplace, not responding to the kiss. It lasted for a moment more before she pulled away. Reinette smiled at him before pushing one of his bangs away from his face. "Adieu, Pharaoh."

She rushed out of the room, leaving the Pharaoh leaning against the fireplace, the shocked look seeming stuck on his face. He swallowed before slowly straightening up, walking from the fireplace to the window. He only remained for a moment, turning to go back, reaching for the switch that would turn the fireplace. The Time Lord looked back at the room before hitting the switch, pressing close to the fireplace as the structure began to spin.

If he was honest with himself, the incident had been more startling than anything else, which was probably why he had frozen instead of acting. But something in him didn't want to act. The Pharaoh rested his forehead against the fireplace with a groan. He had it bad for Yugi if he didn't even consider looking at others, especially when neither of them really knew what to do with themselves. He reached up to rub as his forehead, rocking slightly as the fireplace came to a stop, his eyes widening as he stared at the empty room. "Damn it, Yugi!"

He stepped away from the fireplace, looking around before storming from the small room and into the main deck, ignoring the glowing displays as he stomped into the corridors of the spaceship. Yugi had gone and wandered off again. Hadn't he learned his lesson in London? There was no Captain Duke to save him this time, just Joey. The Pharaoh froze at the though of the time agent, shivering in place. He could still remember that sense of wrongness, the instinct to run kicking in. He had managed a few strides before he forced himself to slow down. Duke wasn't here, that wrongness was far away from him. The Pharaoh took a deep breath, calming himself down before focusing on the corridor in front of him.

The Pharaoh sighed, absently glancing down the hallways as he walked. He should have seen this coming in a way, Yugi was an independent man; he would try and help through whatever methods he could. If anything, it just made the Pharaoh worry more about his companion. He wanted Yugi safe, more for personal reasons then for the threat that his mother had made. He rubbed a hand over his face, turning so he could lean against the wall with a groan. How long would it take for him to just stop thinking about Yugi? It wouldn't work, he knew that himself, he would run away long before anything could happen and he would break Yugi just like he had broken Ishizu.

Warm breath washed across his hand, the Pharaoh blinking and looking up, staring up at the muzzle of a horse. He pressed himself back against the wall, holding perfectly still as the horse reached out to touch him, the muzzle bumping against his chest. The Pharaoh let out a breath of relief, scooting away from the wall to look at the horse.

It was grey, completely tacked up in a plain saddle and bridle, meaning that it hadn't been in use for anything fancy. He reached out to pet the horse, the animal stepping into his caress, the Pharaoh smiling at the motion. "I'm guessing you wandered out into here." He got a snort for an answer, drawing back his hand and giving the reins a tug. "Come on."

He turned and started walking down the hallway. At first, he felt a little tension in the reins before the horse started to move forward, the Pharaoh eventually letting go of the reins when he felt sure that the horse would stick close to him. At least he had found one life form that wouldn't wander off when he told them not to.

The Pharaoh paused as he heard the horse come to a stop, turning his head to look at the gilded doors that sat on his right, glancing back at the horse before pushing them open. For a moment, he was blinded by the sunlight, but he was soon able to focus as his eyes got used to the bright light of the outdoors. The Pharaoh blinked, staring at the palace before him before turning back to the horse. The animal watched him from the spaceship, the Pharaoh tilting his head to the side before deciding to leave it there; it would follow him out if it wanted to.

He walked up to the short stone wall, leaning out it as he watched elaborately dressed men and women walk around. It was probably a court, which would mean that he was in the gardens of Versailles. He chuckled at that, freezing when he saw Reinette walking arm-in-arm with another young woman, the both of them laughing. The Pharaoh quickly ducked behind the wall, not wanting Reinette to see him. He didn't know how much time had passed since they had seen each other, but it was probably enough for her to get over that one kiss that they had shared. He, on the other hand, was still a bit shaken from it. The Pharaoh shifted, twisting to peer over the top of the wall, listening to the conversation the two women were having.

"He is my king! Of course I love him."

Reinette's friend laughed. "That was not what I was asking and you know it."

"Then you should be a bit clearer with your questions. I am not a mind reader."

"Find that friend of yours, whatever his name was. I remember you saying that he could read minds."

"Oh, you!" The two giggled for a moment, the Pharaoh daring to peer over the wall again, watching the two young ladies laugh before sobering, Reinette staring at the palace. "But the king does require a new mistress, and I do love the king…I shall just see then."

The two walked away, the Pharaoh remaining behind for a moment before retreating back to the spaceship, a smile plastered on his face. He shut the doors behind him, reaching out to pet the horse as it nudged him. "I'm a friend of Madame de Pompadour…who knew."

 __

* * *

 _Please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome._


	15. The Lonely Angel

**  
Chapter Fourteen: The Lonely Angel   
**

  
_"That there comes a time, Time Lord, when every lonely little boy must learn how to dance."  
-Reinette_   


 

Yugi stood at the top of the short flight of stairs, watching Joey roll from his place on the ground to the next section of cover before brazenly walking down the middle of the hallway. He rolled his eyes as Joey hissed and waved him over to cover. "Yugi!"

"We don't have to do that."

"You don't know what's out there."

"That's why we're looking." Yugi raised an eyebrow, stopping to rest the large fire extinguisher that he was carrying against a section of the wall that jutted out. Joey had grabbed the other one that was in the small room, both of them carrying the fire extinguishers in case they ran into more of those clockwork droids. If they ran into something very dangerous, Yugi guessed that they could just use the fire extinguishers to pummel it, they were heavy enough. He chuckled at that mental image before shaking his head. "Besides, the Pharaoh will be doing the same thing."

"Maybe we should have discussed it with him instead of wandering off."

Yugi shook his head before pushing away from the wall. "This isn't wandering off, this is reconnaissance."

Joey scoffed at that, Yugi shooting a mock glare at his friend before they began to walk back down the corridor. Part of him hated the fact that he had wandered off again, knowing that the Pharaoh would worry about him and that he never had the best track record for wandering off; he usually got into some kind of trouble. But it wouldn't help if he told Joey that, his friend was already spooked because they were on a deserted ship. Joey had developed the idea that the spaceship was haunted because all of the crew had left. Yugi hoped that Joey would calm down a bit by the time they were done here, the blonde already jumpy.

He sighed and glanced to one side, coming to a stop as he stared up at the camera, surprised when it stared back. Yugi glanced back at Joey, noticing that the blonde had already walked past him, stopped at a different camera. He frowned and looked back up at the camera by him, walking over to the wall and watching as the camera flexed to look down at him, jumping at the slight whirr of mechanics as the camera lowered itself to look at Yugi. The human stood on his tip-toes to look up at the camera, his eyes widening when an eye looked back at him from where the lens should be.

Yugi let out a yelp and threw himself away from the camera, watching as it retracted back to its normal position, staring at it as it turned to look at another part of the corridor. He rested a hand over his racing heart, glancing over at Joey, meeting the blonde's gaze. "Yug'…is that…"

"It's an eye." Yugi carefully pulled himself upright, shivering. "There's an eye in the camera."

"There's an eye in mine too." Joey whispered the words, looking at Yugi with wide eyes. "Yugi…"

"Start moving." Yugi ran to catch up with Joey, grabbing his friend's arm with the intention to pull him down the hall. They had to find the Pharaoh and tell him about this, Yugi's instincts telling him that something was about to go horribly wrong.

"Yug'-"

"Not now, Joey."

"Yugi, can you hear that drum?" He stumbled to a stop at the question, staring at Joey before turning in place. At first, it was all too easy to think that it was just the beating of his heart and Joey was just panicking as well. But it got louder the closer that he got to a specific section of wall. Yugi swallowed nervously before reaching out for a handle on a hatch, glancing back at Joey before pulling the hatch open. For a moment, they couldn't see anything, but the lights flickered on a moment later, the two staring at a beating heart that was wired into the ship.

Joey screamed, jumping backwards. Yugi just slammed the hatch shut, his breathing speeding up as he looked around. What had gone on here? He couldn't bring himself to believe that ships had parts that looked like human body parts; the Pharaoh would have mentioned something like that to them. He started walking, picking a direction away from the cameras and heart, intending to circle back to the console room. Eventually, the Pharaoh would find them there.

They walked quickly down the next hallway, Joey sticking close to him the entire time. It was almost enough to be annoying, but Yugi understood his fear. Joey hadn't been in situations like this before, the Slitheen was one incident quickly forgotten for the good of his sanity; Yugi had to deal with this all the time. He sighed, reaching back to push Joey's gun out of the way, the muzzle of it poking him in the back. He paused in the middle of the motion, staring at a flashing display.

Yugi scurried over to it, staring at it for a moment as he tried to figure out what it was showing. He scowled before he realized that it was a map of the ship, certain points flashing on and off. Yugi glanced up, his eyes widening as he saw a sign pointing to a where the escape pod was. He glanced at the map again before scooting to the side, standing on his tip-toes to look into the bay, surprised to see that the escape pod was still in there. He hummed to himself before looking back at the map. Yugi glanced up at the number, looking over the map until he found the escape pod they were by, his heart sinking as he realized that all the sections where escape pods were located were flashing the same color; none had been launched.

"This is bad."

"What is?"

Yugi turned away before he could answer the question, yelping when Joey grabbed his arm. He looked back at his friend before walking away, Joey taking the hint to follow. "None of the escape pods were launched, Joey, but none of the crew are onboard."

"But we haven't seen any bodies."

"That doesn't mean that they're not here." Yugi gave him a long look, the blonde letting go of his arm.

They walked through the halls silently, Yugi gripping his fire extinguisher so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He kept looking around, starting at all the soft creaks that the ship made as it floated in space. Yugi took a deep breath to calm himself, closing his eyes for a moment before glancing around, coming to a stop as he stared down another corridor. In the dim lighting of the ship, he caught a flash of light, hesitating before taking a step in that direction. From where he stood, he could see that it was a glass wall. Yugi smiled and gestured Joey over, the two of them walking over to the glass.

On the other side was a wood paneled room, the top half of the room painted a light yellow, the colors made darker by the flickering light of the candles. A few couches were scattered around the room, but the most striking thing about the room was the young man who stood in the middle of the room, his blue military-like uniform spotless; the man holding himself with a dignified air. Yugi was briefly reminded of the Pharaoh, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He wondered where this window led, tipping his head to the side before gently placing his hand on the glass.

"What have I told you about wandering off?" He jumped as the Pharaoh came striding around a corner, a grey horse following after him. Yugi would have laughed if the Pharaoh's look of worry hadn't made him pause. Trying to settle for something to pacify the Time Lord, Yugi gave an apologetic smile, turning to look back at the room. The switch of his attention drew the Pharaoh's attention to the room. The Time Lord scowled and took a step closer to the glass. "France again?"

"What?"

The Pharaoh glanced over at him. "The last two times I've been through these things, it's always in France…and always with her."

He pointed as a woman in a light green dress walked in, Yugi astounded by the width of the skirts and the complex designs on the fabric. He couldn't see it all from here, but it looked like some of the costumes from the period romances that his mother would watch when she was in a romantic mood. Yugi withheld a shudder at the memory of those dreaded days, focusing instead on the blonde woman walked forward, giving a deep curtsey to the man before the two began to talk. "Who's that?"

"Jeanne-Antionette Poisson." Yugi felt his stomach do odd flips as the Pharaoh spoke with a flawless French accent, glancing at the Time Lord before looking away. He hated when the Pharaoh did that, made him want to jump the Time Lord. Yugi prided himself on his control, something that the Pharaoh was trying badly. He managed to school his expression into disbelief, wanting the Pharaoh to carry on explaining. The Time Lord sighed and leaned against the wall. "Future Madame de Pompadour and lover of the king of France."

"Lover?"

"He already has a queen." The Pharaoh smiled at him before sighing. "To her friends, she is known as Reinette."

"Reinette?" Yugi stared at the blonde woman in the room, the one openly flirting with the king of France, trying to reconcile that image with the one he had of the little blonde girl from the fireplace. "Our Reinette?"

"She's not ours, but yes." The Pharaoh nodded slowly, staring at the interior of the room. Yugi fell silent, watching the young woman continue to seduce the king, feeling his stomach turn slightly. To him, Reinette would always be the sweet innocent child that they had first met, not this woman. He shivered, wanting to move away from this window and find a safe place, looking over his shoulder for the eyeball cameras.

"Why do you have a horse?" Yugi stared at Joey, not expecting the question. "Why is there a horse on the spaceship?"

"I think the more important question is why is France on the spaceship, specifically her France?" The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow before nodding slowly. "Every window we have come across has one thing in common, Rienette. But why…No."

Yugi turned to look into the room again, noticing that the king had left, Reinette alone in the room and fixing her hair. Yugi followed the Pharaoh's gaze to the clock that was still, frowning and pressing his ear against the glass. He had to hold his breath to hear the faint tick of the clock, backing away before throwing himself at the glass, amazed that it turned under the pressure. Yugi pulled off the strap that held the gun to him, tossing the gun to the Pharaoh.

The Time Lord was the first into the room, skidding to a stop before pressing the trigger of the gun, pointing it at the clockwork droid that had appeared from the shadows. Yugi was a step behind him, catching a hold of Reinette's sleeve and smiling at her. The young woman gasped, looking between the two of them before hugging Yugi. "Oh, you've returned!"

"Hello again, Reinette." The Pharaoh looked over his shoulder, Yugi stiffening at the look that Reinette gave the Pharaoh. He forced himself not to pull away from the young woman, bristling at the implications behind that look. Reinette obviously saw something she liked in the Pharaoh, something that she wanted to have. But she was already the mistress to the king; she couldn't want the Pharaoh as well. In any case, she wasn't going to get the Pharaoh as well. "You seem to have a problem with these things."

"What are they?"

The Pharaoh glanced at Yugi before shaking his head, the human returning with a nod. They wouldn't tell Reinette anything unless it was strictly necessary; they were entangled in time here. The Time Lord shifted, Yugi moving away from Reinette to stand by the Pharaoh. "I can't tell you. But that won't hold it for long. So, Reinette, you are leaving."

"No, I want to stay." She struggled as Joey began to attempt to escort her out, finally pulling away from the blonde with a scowl. "I have the right to find out what has been going on in my life."

She glared at all of them before fixing her attire, Joey taking a step back from her with a wince, Yugi smothering a laugh. "Just like Mai?"

"Hell no. Mai was much nicer, a real lady." Reinette shot another glare at Joey, probably having heard what he had said. Yugi had no problem with her anger, slightly surprised by his vindictive streak. It seemed to only come out when he was jealous, something that surprised him. He hadn't really though he could get jealous. Yugi fought back a blush, glancing over at the clockwork droid as it twitched, slowly coming back to life.

He was pushed to one side, the Pharaoh placing himself between Yugi, Reinette and the droid. Yugi saw the Pharaoh reach for the sonic screwdriver. "What are you doing here?"

The droid regarded him with a fixed stare, refusing to answer. The Pharaoh groaned, looking between the droid and Reinette before heaving a sigh. "It'll only answer to you then. Ask it what it is doing here."

"W-what are you doing here?" Reinette's voice wobbled a bit, Yugi fighting the urge to go and comfort her; she would be fine on her own. She was pulling herself together even now, putting on a regal air. "If you will not answer me, then I order you to answer all of his questions."

The droid slumped, but began to speak, Yugi leaning forward. "We seek to repair the ship."

"In France? Why?"

"We did not have the parts."

Yugi tipped his head to the side at the answer, glancing over to the Pharaoh who looked as confused as he did. The Time Lord shrugged, obviously deciding to go in a different direction. "Where is the crew?"

"We did not have the parts."

"Yes, I get that." The Pharaoh tensed, the hand that held the sonic screwdriver rising to threaten the clockwork droid. "Where is the crew? Hidden somewhere on the ship?"

"We did not have the parts."

"Alright! But what about-" The Pharaoh's eyes widened as he stared at the droid, Yugi seeing his hand tremble slightly. "No parts…"

Yugi reached out to place a hand on the Pharaoh's shoulder, surprised to feel a shudder run through the Time Lord. He glanced up at the Pharaoh's face, surprised to see so much anger in his eyes. The Time Lord glanced his way before letting out a slow breath. "Yugi, the control room…"

"Yeah, it smelled like…" Yugi gagged, leaning over and resting his hands on his knees as a wave of nausea passed through him, trying to fight the urge to throw up. "Oh God…the crew…"

"Barbeque." Yugi looked up at the Pharaoh, turning his head as Joey staggered back out into the hallway to throw up. "They needed the parts, so they just took what they could find."

"So those eyes…and that heart…" Yugi felt the urge to go and join Joey in the hallway, forcing himself to stand by the Pharaoh. He wavered a bit, the Pharaoh reaching down to hold his hand to keep him steady, Yugi giving the Pharaoh a thankful smile before looking over at Reinette. The young woman had taken the news in stride, the only hint of her distress were her pale face and slightly faster breathing. He nodded to her before focusing on the clockwork droid.

"So, you used the crew, but the ship is still stuck. Why are you here?"

"She is not complete."

The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow. "So you're here to scan her brain, but it's not right for you?"

"She is not complete."

The Pharaoh rolled his eyes, Yugi sympathizing with him. The repetition of the answers was getting them nowhere, especially since they didn't seem to be able to guess what the clockwork droid meant the first time. They were wasting precious time. He glanced over at Reinette before clearing his throat. "Why her? There are hundreds of other women. Why her?"

It remained silent, Reinette sighing impatiently before gesturing to Yugi. "Answer his question as well."

The clockwork droid hesitated for a moment. "We are the same."

"We are not!" Reinette shouted, almost drowning out the droid as it spoke. "We are nothing alike."

"We are the same."

"We are nothing, you are nothing. Be gone!" The droid gave her a long look before reaching out to touch its wrist, the metallic clinking of its teleport filling the room. Yugi relaxed as soon as it was gone, surprised to see the Pharaoh pacing.

The Time Lord looked up at him, glancing over at Reinette before looking back at Yugi, heaving a sigh. "Yugi, I need you to go back to the control room. Look for a way to shut down those droids."

"And you?"

"I need to talk to Reinette."

Yugi bristled at the smug look that Reinette gave, the look not aimed at him but cutting all the same. He pushed down his feelings of jealously, moving forward to retrieve the fire extinguisher that the Pharaoh had dropped, backing slowly from the room. He paused when the Pharaoh looked up at him, glad to see that the Time Lord wasn't paying any attention to Reinette, too busy with his thoughts. "Take care of Yves."

"Yve-" Yugi glanced out towards the grey horse that was standing patiently in the hallway, Joey leaning against it. He shook his head. "How do you expect to keep a horse?"

"Just watch the horse!" Yugi laughed before walking out of the room, spinning the glass shut behind him, his laughter stopping as soon as it was closed. He leaned against the glass, watching as the Pharaoh moved over to Reinette, forcing the jealously back again. They both still thought of her as the young girl that they had first met, time had moved too fast for them to believe her to be anything else…or that's what Yugi hoped. He bit his lip before reaching out to take the reins of the horse.

"Yves is it? He has an odd taste in names." He clucked to the horse, Yves tossing his head and following after them. He glanced over to Joey, noticing that the blonde was even more jumpy. "Joey, we're going back to the control room to turn those things off, don't worry."

The blonde snorted in disbelief, absently reaching over to rest a hand on Yves' shoulder. Yugi let them travel in silence, the heading back to the control room at the fastest pace he could manage. Eventually, he let the reins go, confident that Yves would follow them. Yugi stuck his hands into his pockets, staring down at the floor as he walked, biting his lip. Joey must have noticed his usual worrying posture, because he reached over and elbowed Yugi. "What's up, bud?"

"Huh? Nothing. Just thinking…"

"About the Pharaoh?" Yugi looked up at Joey, surprised to see that the blonde was smirking. Joey just shrugged and looked away from Yugi. "Ah, he's probably at the mercy of that French woman by now. If she got the king, he's going to be a push over."

"You don't know that!" Yugi was shocked at his own outburst, watching Joey's eyes widen before they softened a bit, Joey sighing and resting a hand on Yugi's shoulder.

"Yug', listen to me, I know you like this guy but he's an alien. Do you even know what a relationship to him is? He might suck out your brains or something!"

"I highly doubt it, Joey."

"Still, you don't know about him besides what he tells you. I know you trust him but…Yugi, you don't know enough about him."

Yugi shrugged. "I still trust him."

"Yugi…there have been others." He looked away from Joey, hearing the blonde give an annoyed groan. "You know there have been! What do you call Ishizu? I even found one report that he was pretty friendly with Cleopatra. Yugi, don't do this to yourself, buddy, just let him go. You can find someone else."

"I don't want someone else." Yugi mumbled the words, looking up at Joey as his friend stared at him, waiting for him to speak up. Yugi frowned and looked away again. "You don't understand, Joey. Besides, didn't everyone tell you that with Mai?"

"Yeah, and look how I turned out. I'm running away because I don't want to move on, Yugi! I know what I'm doing. What are you doing?"

"I'm living." Yugi started to walk faster, wanting to put Joey behind him. His friend was giving him good advice, but he didn't want to hear it, he didn't want to hear about the chance that the Pharaoh didn't want him around anymore. They made such a good team, and it just felt so right to be out here. And…and… "I want you safe, my Pharaoh."

Yugi screamed and fell to his knees, clutching as his head as the fragment of the time vortex activated, gritting his teeth to prevent any other sounds from escaping as he fought to push it back under control. If he couldn't keep this thing locked up, then he was going to die, no matter what the Pharaoh did, he could feel it every time it became active. It would burn him alive.

He was aware of Joey shaking his shoulders, asking what was wrong, but the words seemed to come from far away. Yugi groaned and struggled against the gentle golden light, slumping when it was finally gone, trembling in place. It was only when Joey began shaking him roughly that he looked up at his friend, the blonde falling to his knees on the floor with relief. "Yug' what was that?"

"I…it…" Yugi shook his hand and ran a hand through his hair. "Something going wrong."

"Wrong? Like…like a disease?"

Yugi gave a wry smile, slowly getting to his feet. "Something like a disease. It's complicated Joey."

"Sure." The two began walking again, Yugi keeping an eye on Joey. The blonde seemed fidgety and nervous; Yugi patiently waiting for the question that he knew would come. "Yug'…is it fatal?"

He forced himself to look at the ground, not wanting to give too much away. The fact of the matter was that neither he nor the Pharaoh knew what the fragment was doing to him. But, if whatever it was doing was interrupted too soon, it would kill him and that was what the Pharaoh was trying to avoid. Yugi swallowed, his throat feeling suddenly dry. "Not as such."

"That's a yes."

"Yeah, it is. But only under the right circumstances."

Joey let out a string of curses, Yugi motioning for him to keep it down as they walked. It wouldn't help; it would just get them found by the clockwork droids. He looked at his friend, Joey struggling to put together a sentence and keep from shouting. "Damn it, Yugi! I thought you said that the Pharaoh was taking care of you."

"He is."

"Not if this happened!"

"This," he gestured at his head, "is not his fault, it's mine. He's working on it."

Joey stared at him for a moment before shaking his head. "Does your mother know?"

"No. And I don't want to tell her unless I'm sure. For all we know, this is just a harmless bit of something I picked up somewhere." Yugi shrugged, hating the fact that he was lying to Joey, but the truth wouldn't help. The truth of the matter was something that he could barely handle himself. "I'll tell her as soon as I find out about it. I don't want to worry her more than needed."

"Alright, Yugi." Joey nodded slowly with a long sigh. "Just take care of yourself, okay? I want to have my little buddy around for a while longer."

"Hey, it takes more than this to stop me." Yugi gave a strained smile; one that Joey couldn't see was false. As long as he kept Joey and his mother from worrying, he would be alright. He was getting really good at stalling for time.

Yugi looked away from Joey, his eyes widening as he saw the two clockwork droids dressed in coats blocking the hallway. He stopped, turning around and pushing the horse out of his way, his eyes widening as he saw that two others were waiting behind him, Yugi fumbling for a better hold on the fire extinguisher that he had. He spun around to face the first two, hearing Joey shouting as one came for him, the horse panicking and taking off. Yugi ducked as the horse kicked out, one of the clockwork droids falling over, its gears leaking out onto the floor, but there was another to take its place. Yugi gritted his teeth and swung the fire extinguisher, hoping to knock them out of his way so he could have room to move. He yelped as an arm wrapped around his neck, Yugi hearing the whirr of machinery as something extending from beneath the sleeve. He got a glimpse of something metal glinting in the dim light of the spaceship before something pushed into his neck. Yugi clawed at the arm around his neck, his eyes rolling back as he lost consciousness.

* * *

The Pharaoh looked Reinette over, knowing that he was toeing the line of staring too long, but he didn't care. He was willing to bet that this ship was littered with time windows into Reinette's time, which was why it was putting out so much energy. Apparently, the repairs that the droids had made were enough to grant it that power. But, since the ship wasn't moving, he guessed that the repairs weren't finished; the one thing that they needed Reinette for. Something so important that they kept scanning her brain to see it. He looked away for a moment, staring at a spot on the wall as he tried to get all of the facts to fit, jumping as Reinette rested a hand on his arm. "Pharaoh?"

"Hm?"

"You are thinking too hard." He tensed as she reached up to brush her fingers over his forehead, trying to smooth the lines that had formed there. "I think Yugi would be mad if you overtaxed yourself."

"Reinette, I don't have time to not think." He turned, looking at her for a moment before coming to a decision. As much as he hated it, he had to investigate her memories to see if the clockwork droids had left any clues or to see if he could glean anything from that. The Pharaoh sighed, raising his hands so they rested on her temples, spreading his fingers. "I'm sorry Reinette, but-"

"If it must be done, then do it."

"Alright." The Pharaoh closed his eyes, feeling the edge of Reinette's mind slide against his, gently pushing against the barrier. For a moment, there was resistance, the resistance giving way a moment later. He relaxed a bit, the hardest part done, the Pharaoh settling into a stance that he could stand comfortably in before he began skimming over her memories. "If you don't want me to see a memory, imagine a door and shut it…like here…"

The Pharaoh felt his throat grow dry as he found himself confronted by a memory, Reinette making no move to hide it from him. He felt himself blush, shutting his eyes tighter and trying to drive the image of one of Reinette's fantasies about him away, plunging onward. The sooner he found what those droids were looking for, the sooner he could get back to the console room and figure out a way to shut this ship down; they were disrupting the time line.

A shift found him a promising place, memories of one of the scans done by the droids that hadn't fully been wiped clean. He ran through the memories, frowning as he saw what they were looking for, realizing that it didn't really make sense. The Pharaoh cleared his throat, opening his eyes slightly, glad to see that Reinette still had her eyes shut, he was already too close to the young woman for his own comfort. "How old are you?"

"Such an impertinent question so early on. I like where this is going."

The Pharaoh ignored her comment, searching through the single memory again but only getting one answer. Those droids were specifically searching for her age, it was important to them for some reason. As of now, she wasn't complete because she hadn't reached that age. But when she did, they would take her brain to use to repair the central computer of the ship, the Pharaoh shivered at the thought. It was an elaborate plan, one that sickened him. The droids were just doing their job, but they were taking it a step too far, they could damage history if he allowed them to continue like this.

He sighed, ready to withdraw from her memories when Reinette gave a gasp of surprise, the Pharaoh strengthening his hold on her for a moment. "Calm down, Reinette. This sometimes brings up bad memories."

"So alone…"

"It'll pass."

"Such a lonely childhood." The Pharaoh heard her speak, the sound seeming to come from far away, he shook himself, trying to concentrate on his task. It was hard when he kept seeing snatches of his life on Gallifrey, trying to fight them off to continue his search. He gasped, tensing as a memory was forced to replay itself, the Pharaoh shuddering as it did.

 _He was sitting in the library of the great house, curled up in one of the large chairs with a book in his hands. He smiled and snuggled deeper into the chair, his small body hidden behind the large backrest. Even through the thick doors that were behind them, he could hear the sound of his cousins making their usual ruckus, playing out in the halls of the house. The Pharaoh shook his head and focused back on his book, smiling as he continued to read about the history of the planet._

 _He was so engrossed in the book that he didn't hear the doors creak open, only looking up as the book was torn from his hands. The Pharaoh whimpered, reaching out for his book only to be shoved back into his chair by one of his older cousins. The five-year-old pouted, looking around at the group before holding out his hand. "Can I have it back?"_

 _"What? This?" He turned his attention to the boy that was holding the book, narrowing his eyes as he watched his cousin flip through it, obvious disgust on the other boy's face. "It's a history of Clom. Who cares about Clom?"_

 _"I do!" He glared at his cousin, pushing himself off of his chair to stare at the older boy, his hand still held out. "I want my book back!"_

 _The older boy raised an eyebrow. "You're demanding!"_

 _"I'm the heir to this house!" His shout drew laughter from the other boys, the Pharaoh hesitating before keeping his show of strength up. He didn't know why they were laughing at him, although it seemed like his cousins were always laughing at him for something. The Pharaoh leveled a better glare at them. "Karim, give my back my book."_

 _"Oh, that was good, cousin." Karim just ignored what he had said. "You think you're the heir to the house of One Thousand Years?"_

 _"My father is the patriarch."_

 _"Aye, but the inheritance can be passed off to any male." Karim smiled, the Pharaoh shifting nervously as his cousin stared at him. "And it will go to another Time Lord, not a little freak like you."_

 _"I am a Time Lord!"_

 _Karim shook his head, tossing the book over his shoulder and grabbing the Pharaoh. He yelped as he was shoved back into the chair, the rest of his cousins laughing at him. Karim just smirked down at him. "Of course you would say that, it's what your father has told you. We know better."_

 _"Father wouldn't lie to me!"_

 _"He would. He lies to the president and the council as well." Karim shook him. "You are less than a Time Lord. All half-breeds should be killed."_

 _"I'm no half-breed!"_

 _"Perhaps not half, but something happened." The Pharaoh gasped as he was tugged off the chair and thrown to the floor, trying to scramble away from Karim, only to be held in place by his cousin's foot. "Something in that junk that your father brought back messed up your Looming, and that makes you less than Time Lord."_

 _"No!" He winced as he was slapped, only then realizing that he had been crying, his cheeks wet with tears._

 _"Stop crying, baby." Karim wiped his hand off on his tunic, looking disgusted. "I don't even know why the council allowed you live; you're lesser than all of us, all of true Time Lords."_

 _The Pharaoh grunted as Karim stepped on his stomach before kicking him away, allowing himself to roll along the floor. He came to a stop against a bookshelf, watching through tear filled eyes as his cousins filed out of the room, one of them taking his book with them. He knew that he wouldn't get it back unless he could sneak into their room and steal it back; and he would be punished for that. The Pharaoh sniffed and wiped the tears away from his eyes, thanking Ra again that Karim would be going to the Academy come tomorrow, then he would no longer have to deal with his oldest cousin anymore. But his other cousins would pick up where Karim left off, taunting about the mysterious accident that had happened during his Looming, the thing that everyone on Gallifrey seemed to know about._

 _He pushed himself off the floor, creeping to the door of the library and looking around; wanting to be sure that he was safe. Sure that all of his cousins were gone, he sprinted from the great room, running through the corridors of the house. The Pharaoh was heading for the living quarters when he forced himself to turn around, sprinting for the door that led to the orchards. His mother would have her hands full with his younger brother and his aunts would only taunt him more; his mother had never done anything to stop it. Secretly, he thought that she hated him as much as everyone else did. Even his father stayed away from him, always in the capital on business and, even when he was home, the man would never see him._

 _The Pharaoh sprinted out through the kitchen, stumbling through the long red grass as he raced for the trees in the orchard, watching as the two suns made the silver leaves sparkle, ducking his head under a low hanging branch before lunging for the closest one, pulling himself up into the tree. It was easy to climb up the tree, finding a comfortable place to wedge himself, curling up into a ball and hoping that the silver leaves would hide him from everyone who came to look for him. He didn't want to be found._

 _But, then again, he doubted that anyone would come for him. They all probably wanted him to starve to death or something. He sniffed and wiped the tears from his face again, reaching up to pull one branch away so he could see the mansion that was their neighbor, barely able to see the white walls from his hiding place, the side of the mountain hiding it. It didn't matter anyway, the whole house had gone to one of the cities further down the river to purchase land there, taking his only friend with them. The Pharaoh let the branch drop into place before wrapping his arms around his knees and leaning back against the rough bark._

The Pharaoh gasped, fighting the memory back into submission, barely noticing the tears that were leaking from Reinette's eyes. He did focus when the young woman spoke, her voice breaking over the words. "Such a lonely little boy, lonely then and, perhaps, lonelier now."

He was about to respond when he felt Reinette trigger another memory, trying to pull away only to help the young woman bring it to the fore.

 _"The evidence stands against you, Pharaoh. Do you have anything else to say in your defense?"_

 _He swallowed back a curse and glared at Karim, his cousin smirking. He should have known that Karim would find a way to pass the blame to him for the botched mission that they had been sent on. Of course, he hadn't stuck strictly to the noninterference law, but he hadn't messed with the timeline, he knew enough not to break that one law. But that hadn't stopped Karim; his cousin had managed to almost destroy a whole culture when he introduced new technology to them, just to impress one of the pretty natives. And then, Karim had managed to get this whole investigation to turn against the Pharaoh instead of himself. Now Karim stood to inherit the estate that he wanted, to be patriarch of the house of One Thousand Years; the Pharaoh was out of the way as well as his mother and father._

 _The Pharaoh looked up at the President before slowly shaking his head, turning his gaze to the ground and glaring at that instead of Karim. He heard the man sigh before speaking again. "Then I have no choice but to exile you for the prescribed period of time or until we call you back. Karim shall guard your estates for you until you are allowed to return. You have until the suns set to leave."_

 _He nodded slowly, not bothering to bow to either the council or the President as he turned and walked from the room, his robes sweeping around his feet. He scowled at the things, hating them. He had spent most of his life in them, whether that was in the Academy or in political meetings such as that one. He wanted nothing more than to rip them off, but he would have to wait until he returned to his home. The most important thing would be to inform Mokuba of what had happened._

 _The Pharaoh strode quickly through the streets, breaking into a run as soon as he was out of the capitol. Karim would follow at a slower pace, his cousin having to get all the paperwork filled out and have his position and titles adjusted accordingly to his new status. The Pharaoh winced at the thought, his father would have died of embarrassment if he was not already dead; he had always held his son in high esteem despite what everyone said about him. The Pharaoh wasn't even going to tell his mother, not wanting to have to deal with the verbal abuse that would be heaped on him for the mistake. The only one there was to tell the whole story to would be Mokuba._

 _At the thought of his little brother, the Pharaoh flinched. He would miss Mokuba's wedding because of this; there was no way the council would allow him to return just for that one event. His family would disown him for the time that he would spend in exile. He wouldn't get to see Mokuba getting married or his brother's first child Loomed; he would miss all of those things that he had promised to see. His brother would never forgive him for that._

 _He sprinted up the hill to his mansion, ignoring the startled looks that the others on the property gave him, rushing to get into the house and all the things that he would need before Karim came after him and spread the lies around. Mokuba had to start preaching his innocence to at least a few Time Lords before his reputation was ruined. If he could scavenge anything out of this, he would try._

 _The Pharaoh turned towards the living quarters, racing up a short flight of stairs before barging into Mokuba's room, preparing to apologize when his brother jumped. Mokuba took one look at him before standing up. "What's the sentence?"_

 _"Exile. Karim gets all of this."_

 _"Damn him." Mokuba sighed and ran a hand through his messy black hair before shrugging. "So, you're leaving on the next transport?"_

 _The Pharaoh snorted in disgust. "They already told me to leave the planet, I'm not going to let them chose where I go." He walked over to the window and stared at the bright capitol. "I'm going back there tonight and I'll get my own transport."_

 _"Your own…but you don't have a license for a TARDIS!"_

 _"They won't care about one of the ones that they're going to murder anyway." The Pharaoh shrugged. "I can save a life with my escape. I will not allow them to ruin our name, especially when you are getting married."_

 _"Brother…"_

 _"No. I don't want your children living in disgrace."_

 _"What about yours?" The Pharaoh stared at his brother, lowering his gaze to the stone floor with a long sigh. Mokuba walked over to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Your own children should be saved from dishonor, not mine."_

 _The Pharaoh shook off the hand, moving to lean against the wall as he stared towards the window. "Teana has taken to living in the city more than she does here. She's already heard of my disgrace and she's probably already started on the divorce papers; my exile will just make it easier for her. Now she can court Karim and return to the power that she so loves and she won't be embarrassed by me."_

 _"That's not true! Teana loves you!"_

 _"Teana loved me. But then she found it easier to love the power that came with my position. She despises me now and I don't know why." He fought back a sob at the thought of his wife, pulling himself back together with a shake of his head. "She's turned all of my children against me, all of my grandchildren. They will enjoy being called Karim's wards now. It's what they wanted."_

 _"Not all of them." The Pharaoh looked up abruptly as Mokuba spoke, his brother looking thoughtfully at him. "Naia is here from the city, she said she couldn't stand it there any longer. She's due back at the Academy in a few weeks, but you could always take her with you."_

 _"And not allow her to continue her schooling? What kind of grandfather would I be if I did that?"_

 _"She could learn from you, that's better than any teacher at the Academy."_

 _"She'll never be considered a real Time Lord."_

 _"I don't think she cares, she just wants to be like you. A-Pharaoh, that girl idolizes you." Mokuba pointed towards where Naia's room was. "Take her with you, please. I just want to know that you're not alone out there."_

 _The Pharaoh stared at his brother for a long while before finally nodding; glad that he would have someone to go with him. "Alright, I'll get her."_

 _"And I'll get your stuff."_

 _"Don't forget Father's gold box."_

 _"Right. I'll meet you at the door." Mokuba rushed off, the Pharaoh smiling at his brother, wishing that he could stay for Mokuba's sake. But the orders from the council were not to be ignored. He turned and walked down the corridor, easily finding where his granddaughter was staying._

 _He paused at the door to the room, smiling as he watched Naia reading in her bed, forcing himself into motion sooner than he would have liked; they had to get moving quickly. She looked up as he walked in a smile crossing her face. "Grandfather! How did it go?"_

 _"Not well. I have to leave."_

 _He blue eyes widened, Naia nearly throwing herself from the bed as she rushed to hug him. "Oh Grandfather!"_

 _"Listen, I want you to come with me, but only if you want to."_

 _Naia stared at him, surprising him by nodding immediately. "I don't want to go back to the Academy or my family in the city. They just…ARGH! I don't understand how you were able to stand Grandmother's company for so long."_

 _"Things were very different back then." The Pharaoh watched Naia rush around, surprised at the speed with which the girl packed her bag, turning to look at him when she was done. He gestured for her to precede him out, the two heading for the front door._

 _As promised, Mokuba was there, smiling as he held the bag out to his brother. "I'll see you in a couple of decades, yeah?"_

 _"Of course."_

 _"I'll even name one of my kids after you."_

 _"Don't do that." The Pharaoh immediately regretted snapping at his brother, softening his words with a smile. "Father just said that my name was special and had to be kept only with me."_

 _"Like I would name my kid that. I was thinking something else, like one of your nicknames."_

 _The Pharaoh shrugged, his smile widening. "On your head be it, I'm sure your wife wouldn't appreciate it."_

 _Mokuba laughed and reached out to clasp his hand. "Keep yourself safe, brother. I want you back here in one piece. You and Naia."_

 _He nodded before walking out of the door, still wearing his annoying robes. He glared down at them, pausing for a moment before stripping them off, revealing the shirt and kilt that was underneath. He sighed before throwing the robes into the dust, not bothering to look back as he turned to run, Naia keeping pace with them. They took the old trail to the city, avoiding most of the heavy traffic and taking less time, the older track used when the Time Lords were more focused on farming than controlling all of time and space. Of course, it was overgrown and passed dangerously close to his former friend's estate, but it was safe enough. Besides, it would take him right to where the older TARDISes were kept, exactly what he needed._

 _The twin suns were just setting when they arrived by the stone building, the Pharaoh slowing his run to look around, motioning for Naia to go first. He followed his granddaughter into the building, not surprised to find it empty. The Time Lords were probably busy looking over the newer models of TARDISes that had to be readied for the next group to go out and monitor time. Karim was probably among them; his old TARDIS had been practically destroyed by the time they had gotten back. The Pharaoh shook his head at the memory of the TARDIS' screams throughout the flight, sure that the TARDIS was dead by now and he mourned its passing. It had been a good ship._

 _He stepped into the room, staring at all of the TARDISes that were lined up in the room, looking them over carefully. The Pharaoh was surprised to see that Naia was standing back, allow him to decide which one they would take, the Pharaoh thankful for that. He smiled at her before beginning to wander down the rows, pausing at the snatch of song that he heard. He turned in place, trying to pick up the song again and breaking into a run when he heard it. It was sad and heartbreaking; something in it calling the Pharaoh to the TARDIS that was singing that tune._

 _The TARDIS was sitting near the back of the room, one of the ones next in line to be decommissioned and ripped apart, the Pharaoh wincing at that thought. The technical terms hid the fact that it was murder, the TARDISes were sentient beings. Why else would they mourn when their previous Time Lord died? He shook his head at the stupidity of his people before walking up to the singing TARDIS, resting his hand on the door. The song paused for a moment before it grew in volume, the Pharaoh wincing at the sound before gently petting the outside of the TARDIS, feeling the rough texture of the stone that the TARDIS had disguised itself as. "Hush now, beautiful."_

 _As a response, he got a bunch of images flashing through his mind, all of them of a Time Lord dying, truly dying as he had run out of regenerations. And the entire time he had been resting close to his loyal TARDIS; the TARDIS that had been given to him when type-forties were barely out of the prototype stage. No wonder the TARDIS sang such a sorrowful song. Not only had she lost her Time Lord, but she was going to be destroyed come the morning. The Pharaoh bit his lip, glancing back at Naia before continuing to pet the TARDIS. "I hear you, I hear you and I know your pain. My father…my father…"_

 _A new melody joined the song, the Pharaoh smiling as the TARDIS mourned his father's death as well as her Time Lord's. The Pharaoh rested his forehead against the stone with a sigh. "Thank you, beautiful, but that was not needed." The TARDIS gave a soft rumble under her song, the Pharaoh chuckling. "I have something to ask you. Will you carry us away?"_

 _There was a pause in the song as the TARDIS considered what he had said. The Pharaoh swallowed and looked up at the TARDIS. "They have cast us out as they have you. I will not pretend to replace your Time Lord, but I need your help and I would weep if they murdered such a great creature."_

 _He got the impression that the TARDIS blushed, stepping back as the door swung open. He smiled and gestured for Naia to walk in, following her as they walked into the stark console room. The Pharaoh turned in place before motioning for Naia to go on, circling the console and taking note of what needed repair, which was a good many things. Of course, there were many planets where he could get parts for a TARDIS or…He smiled and rushed out of the TARDIS, returning moments later when four full repair kits, setting them down by the console. After a pause, he reached out to pet the console, relaxing at the happy hum that the move drew from the TARDIS. "I promise that I'll fix you up as soon as we are safe. You'll be a wonder among TARDISes again."_

 _The Pharaoh moved around the console, quickly imputing the commands for a take-off, smiling as the TARDIS helped him around some of her more archaic systems, taking every opportunity to brush his hands over the TARDIS, knowing that she would enjoy the sensation of touch after being locked up alone for so long. He smiled at he pulled the lever that would send them into flight, the TARDIS rocking a bit as it entered the time vortex, but she steadied herself quickly. The Pharaoh nodded to himself, turning to reaching for one of the repair kits when he spotted the key that dangled from the console on a chain._

 _He raised an eyebrow at that, reaching out for it. "For me?"_

 _There was an affirmative hum, the Pharaoh reaching out and putting the key around his neck with a smile before he went to work._

He opened his eyes at that, surprised to see Reinette looking up at him with pity. He took a step back, releasing her as memories began to push up from where he had buried them, his efforts weak as he stared at Reinette. The blonde shook her head, rubbing her arms like she was trying to get warm. The Pharaoh hurriedly continued to back away, wincing as he hit the wall. He glanced back before looking at Reinette, the blonde still looking at him in pity. "My poor Pharaoh, my lonely angel."

"H-how did you do that?"

She bit her lip, looking away. "A door once opened can be walked through in the other direction."

He stared at her in shock, slowly realizing that she had just as easily reached through his own memories, slightly shocked at the audacity of the woman. The Pharaoh recovered quickly, pushing away from the wall to stand on his own. Reinette looked up at him before shaking her head. "What kind of man hides his true name, even altering his memories so he is known as nothing other than his title?"

"Me."

"So your name is that much of a secret. Are you ashamed?" The Pharaoh's immediate response was to deny it, but he knew that he was. It was the one thing that had separated him from the other Time Lords, the name which bore the question of his true heritage. He ducked his head, preferring not to answer. He heard Reinette sigh before she walked over to him, gently guiding his head up with her hand. "Tonight it not the time to dwell on such things. Tonight, the king dances and I command his full attention. Tonight, I will help you forget about the problems that plague your past."

She leaned up to kiss him, the Pharaoh quickly pushing her away. For a moment, Reinette looked insulted before she recovered, staring at him with a cool and calculating look. She absently fixed her hair before tilting her head to the side. "So you are already spoken for?"

"No."

"Ah, but you resist, so there is someone." Reinette tapped a finger against her chin before throwing the Pharaoh a wink. "Then I will just beg your company for this one night before I let you return to that one person."

He tried to protest, but found himself being led down the hallway. The Pharaoh looked back toward the window, eventually tugging his hand away from Reinette. "Tonight is the night you dance with the king."

"Yes, but you will serve for him to want me more." She smiled at him. "I am not a stupid woman, Pharaoh; I know the ways of men very well."

The Pharaoh considered protesting, but found that he had no other excuse. He would help Reinette this once, if only to get away from the images of his past that she had stirred up. Yugi and Joey would keep for a while.


	16. Lament

** Chapter Fifteen: Lament **

_"It happened, child, and I would not have it any other way. One may tolerate a world of demons for the sake of an angel."  
-Reinette_

Yugi groaned as he opened his eyes, the room around him blurring for a moment as he fought of the remains of the drug that had been injected into him. He shook his head, trying to sit up only to find that he had been strapped to a table. He tensed, staring down at the metal restraints before looking over at Joey, surprised to see his friend already awake. The blonde met his gaze before jerking his head in one direction, Yugi blinking before slowly turning his head.

The clockwork droids were there, all of them assembled to stare at the two of them. Yugi felt a shiver run up his spine as he strained against his restraints, twisting slightly as one of the droids moved close to him to stand in front of the two. The droid looked over him and Joey, Yugi getting the suspicion that they were being scanned, something that didn't bode well for them. He closed his eyes for a moment to calm himself down before he turned to glare at the clockwork droids, trying to do his best to imitate the Pharaoh. It didn't surprise them that they didn't back down, Yugi calmly waiting for them to speak.

There was a faint whirr of machinery before the clockwork droid spoke. "You are compatible."

"Compatible?" Yugi turned to look at Joey, watching his friend struggle against his bonds again, shifting to try and get closer to Joey to calm him down.

Unfortunately, the clockwork droid spoke first. "You will be used in repairs. You are compatible."

"No! I'm not becoming part of this ship!"

Yugi shot Joey a glare that he was sure that the blonde didn't see before turning back to the clockwork droid. Their one chance lay in the Pharaoh getting her on time, something that Yugi hoped would happen soon. In the meantime, he would have to stall for the Pharaoh. He pulled himself as far up as his restraints would allow him to, glaring at all of the droids. "You'd better leave us alone." The droid tipped its head to the side, Yugi taking that as a sign to continue. "You've met our friend before and I can promise you that you will be punished for anything you do to us."

He narrowed his eyes, straining close to try and intimidate the clockwork droids. "Our friend is known throughout the galaxies and he as bested greater creatures than you." Yugi paused as he thought he heard the sound of someone singing, shaking his head before focusing on the droids again. "You know the Daleks? You should. He wiped them out, every last one of them. They call him the Destroyer of Worlds and the…the…"

Yugi stared at the Pharaoh nearly waltzed into the room, a glass of wine in one hand, singing. "First of all this means your wedding. You'll recall your future bride. For the way that Pharaoh's heading, time's no longer on our side. According to the hawk god, Horus, our most regal invalid is not that much longer for us. Build another pyramid!"

He stared at the Pharaoh, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that the Time Lord was obviously drunk, but his gaze kept creeping dangerously low to where the Time Lord's shirt was unbuttoned more than normal. His concentration disappeared for a few moments, only the sound of the Pharaoh's voice bringing him back to where they were, struggling to regain the façade that he had used. "The French, Yugi, know how to party. That was the best party I've been too since…since…Oh I don't remember when. Plenty of food drink and pretty girls."

Yugi blushed at the wink that was sent his way, getting angry quickly as he realized that the Pharaoh was not help to them. He groaned, resisting the urge to beat his head against the metal table that held him up. "Oh, here he is, the Oncoming Storm himself. How's it going, Pharaoh?"

"Hey," the Pharaoh swayed in place, "none of that. One more word and I'll just leave you there and go back to my party." Yugi rolled his eyes by kept quiet, the Pharaoh smiling before letting out a laugh, leaning against the main console. "I figured it all out. They only want Reinette for her brain. What an insult, huh? They want her brain because it matches up with the ship for some reason. And once she gets to a certain age, whack, off with her head!"

The Pharaoh giggled at that, Yugi was sure that the sound was a giggle. The Time Lord pushed away from the console to lean against one of the droids, slinging an arm around the shoulders of the droid. "You can do what you want with 'em, they're replaceable. But first, I'm being a bad guest. Wine?"

The droid's mask was pushed off, the Pharaoh pouring the glass of liquid over the droid's head, stepping away as it slumped. Yugi turned, his eyes widening as the other droids moved forward, hearing a loud clunk as a nearby lever fell to the floor, the droids slumping as they were deactivated. He turned his head to look at the Pharaoh, surprised to see the Time Lord completely sober. The Pharaoh nodded at him before reaching over the console to press a button, the restraints sliding off Yugi.

He smiled and clambered off the table, Joey doing the same. Yugi looked over at his friend, glad to see that Joey was alright. He tensed as he heard the Pharaoh walk up behind him, not bothering to turn around. "So, you went to a party with Reinette instead of coming to get us? What would have happened if you were too late?"

"Yugi…" He felt the Pharaoh touch his shoulder, the hand dropping away a moment later. He turned around, watching the Time Lord sigh. "I snuck out of there as soon as I could. But I'm-"

"Don't bother." Yugi smiled and hugged the Pharaoh, trying not to start as he felt his cheek rest against slightly cool skin. He couldn't help the shiver that ran down his spine, the Pharaoh holding him closer to warm him, the increased contact not helping. Yugi cleared his throat and pulled away with a smile, leaning against the console as the Pharaoh continued to root around. "So…were you really drunk?"

He thought he saw the Pharaoh blush at that, leaning his chin on his hand, nearly laughing as the Pharaoh suddenly became interested in a flashing light on the control panel. "Uh…"

"I'll take that as a yes." Yugi smirked before reaching for the button that the Pharaoh gestured him towards, pressing it. He raised an eyebrow as the Pharaoh continued to keep his head down, the blush still on his face. Yugi had to keep from laughing, turning to face Joey. The blonde was still by the tables, every once and a while shivering. "Joey? You alright?"

"Yeah. I'm just…wow that was close."

"The Pharaoh likes close calls." Yugi rolled his eyes, freezing when he heard a faint jingling sound. There was a curse from the Pharaoh, the sound drowned out as the clockwork droids jerked to life. Yugi glanced up at the ceiling before looking over at the Pharaoh. "They found her?"

"Yeah."

Yugi lunged for the nearest droid, watching helplessly as it disintegrated into pieces, teleporting to where the right Reinette was. He looked back at the Pharaoh, the Time Lord leaning over a display that showed the ship, but not the time windows. Yugi ran a hand through his hair, turning in place as he tried to think of a plan. "We have to warn her!"

"I know Yugi, but we don't know where the right window is."

"Then we find it! Reinette is in danger!" Yugi turned to look at Joey. "Pharaoh, stay here and find the window the droids went to, Joey and I will look for Reinette."

"Yugi…be careful."

"I'm always careful." Yugi gave the Pharaoh a lopsided smile. "Take care of yourself."

The Time Lord nodded before turning back to the displays, Yugi immediately taking off down a corridor. He was sure that Joey would start with another hallway, leaving them to cover a larger area. While they didn't have a concrete message to give Reinette when they saw her, a warning would be good enough to help the young woman. As much as he resented her for trying to get the Pharaoh, he couldn't bring himself to wish any harm to her. Besides, it wasn't as if the Pharaoh had actually agreed to any kind of relationship with him, they were still friends. Perhaps it was best if they stayed that way, especially if the fragment in his head was deadly.

He pushed those thoughts away, hating to dwell on the fact that he might drop dead any day now and focused on searching for things that didn't belong on the spaceship, spending what seemed like hours pressing up against panes of glass to catch glimpses of France. He was reaching the end of the ship, becoming frustrated. He had run into Joey once, who had said that Reinette hadn't been near any of the windows that he had found and he hadn't wanted to venture deeper than the room itself. The blonde had gone back to help the Pharaoh, leaving Yugi to continue his search.

Yugi was on the verge of giving on up when he saw the tapestry, staring at the woven hanging before cautiously pulling it aside, a smile crossing his face as he saw Reinette walk past. He stepped through the space, carefully looking down the hall to be sure that no one was around before following Reinette, reaching out to catch her arm when he caught up. Reinette gave a little squeak of alarm but made no other sound as Yugi smiled at her, the young woman quickly tugging him into a vacant room before hugging him tightly. "Oh Yugi! How are you and the Pharaoh?"

"In a bit of a hurry." Yugi smiled apologetically before sighing and rubbing his forehead. "We found out why those creatures what you, Reinette, they need your brain at a certain age."

"M-my brain?"

"They need it to repair their ship." Yugi bit his lip and glanced at the floor. "Joey and the Pharaoh are looking for the window for the moment it happens, but we needed to warn you. I promise that we'll find some way to help."

"So they will come to rip out my brain…Do you even know the age?"

"I'm sorry, Reinette."

"Why me?"

"We don't know that either." Yugi walked over to her, gently taking her hands in his and squeezing them. "But I can promise that we will be there for you when it counts. We were before. And, after this, you won't have to worry about those things trying to hurt you again."

She gave him a shaky smile before leaning back in her chair. "It's not fair, you know, you have you two popping in and out of my life as young as ever while I age. What I must look like to you…"

"You look very beautiful."

"You're just saying that."

"I'm not."

Reinette looked up at him for a long moment before sighing. "Then why does the Pharaoh resist me? Of all the men…he is the one that I find that I cannot forget."

Yugi stiffened at that, fighting the urge to respond with a biting comment. It would be better if he held back his vindictive side, he didn't want to offend Reinette and then be the cause of her death. Instead, he just looked away, glaring at the wall. He heard the rustle of Reinette's skirts as the young woman looked at him, blinking at the soft exclamation that came from Reinette. Yugi turned to look at her again, curiosity winning over his jealously, surprised to see that Reinette was smiling. "I see why I could not win him."

"What?"

"When a man's mind is firmly fixed upon another with such fervor, it is easier to woo a brick wall."

Yugi blushed and shook his head. "But…we're just friends…the Pharaoh and I."

"You may say that Yugi, but you act differently. I must have been naïve to think you two weren't lovers before."

"But we're not."

"Then you are a fool." Yugi flinched at her words, Reinette standing up to place a hand on his shoulder. "Do not take that as an insult, Yugi, but encouragement. The Pharaoh is a very handsome man and, while I am loathe to lose him, I could stand losing him to you."

"Reinette, it's not like that."

"Then what it is like?" She tipped her head to the side, Yugi finding that he couldn't gather the words to explain what he and the Pharaoh actually were, mostly because he did not know himself. He sighed and looked away, hearing Reinette laugh softly. "Ah, so you do not know either. Just answer one question then, why do you hesitate?"

"Because there was someone before."

"Oh, you loved another before him."

Yugi gave a shaky smile. "I still do, but it's really complicated and we don't have enough time for that. But it's also because this is dangerous, being around the Pharaoh is dangerous and I don't know if I want to get into anything that can be destroyed so easily."

"Is he worth it?" Yugi stared at Reinette, the young woman sighing and rephrasing her question. "Is the Pharaoh worth the danger and the monsters?"

"Y-yes."

Reinette gave a small nod, a smile on her face. "And we both know it. So, why are you wasting your time?"

"I-"

"Yug'? Yugi?" He turned as Joey rushed into the room, the blonde glancing at Reinette before pointing the way back to the ship. "The Pharaoh found the window, we have to go now."

Yugi glanced back at Reinette, surprised to see that she was shaking. He reacted without thinking, wrapping his arms around the young woman and pulling her into a hug. "It'll be alright. He'll be there to save you, I promise."

"What if he's not?" Reinette looked at him before resting her head on his shoulder. "Must I live with this knowledge but never know when it is coming?"

"I'm sorry."

She took a deep breath, gathering her composure and pulling away from Yugi, the young man surprised to see that there were tears in her eyes. "Well, I must keep true to my words now. Remember, tolerate the evil for the sake of one angel."

Reinette swept out of the room, leaving Yugi staring after her. He slumped, staring at the floor for a long while before forcing himself to move. They had to go back to the Pharaoh and help him save Reinette, he had to focus on the danger before he could think about any of his other problems. That thought alone buoyed his spirits; whatever problems he had would be faced when he got back to the TARDIS, it was better to have a clear mind when running for his life. He turned to smile and Joey before slipping out into the hallway and stepping into the spaceship through the hole that the tapestry covered. Joey followed him out, Yugi gesturing for the blonde to go first. Joey had been with the Pharaoh when they had discovered the window. Joey turned on the spot before taking off at a run, Yugi rushing to keep up.

They moved back towards the console room, Yugi flinching as the sounds of screaming got louder, glancing up to Joey for an explanation. "Audio. The Pharaoh was trying to rig it up so he could hear what was going on."

More screams came over the audio feed, Yugi wincing. "Well, what's going on?"

"Panic." They both looked up abruptly at the sound of a curse from the console room, Yugi sprinting into the room first. He easily found the window, staring at the mirror that was right in front of the controls. He looked up, seeing part of a steel plate raised from the body of the ship, realizing the reason that he had never seen the mirror, it had been hidden. Maybe the crew had wanted to save the life of Reinette before they had been slaughtered, but Yugi would never know. He glanced at the mirror again before looking at the Pharaoh; the Time Lord slumped over the console.

The Pharaoh looked up at him as he walked over, giving Yugi a shaky smile before pulling himself upright, staring at the mirror. "They closed it off, we can't get in."

"Can't…but I promised Reinette!"

"I know Yugi!" The Pharaoh began pacing, his eyes trained on the floor beneath his feet. Yugi watched him for a while, looking between the pacing Time Lord and the mirror, watching as the droids began pushing the people at the party into corners. They were searching for Reinette, the one person that Yugi hoped was away from all of this.

He looked at the Pharaoh again, swallowing nervously. "Is there another way?"

The Pharaoh hesitated, the pause only lasting for a second, but Yugi saw it. He walked over to the Pharaoh, catching him before he could begin pacing again, staring up into the Time Lord's crimson eyes. The Pharaoh answered his question in the simple act of being unable to meet his gaze, meaning that there was another way, but the Pharaoh didn't want to risk it. Yugi shook his head but kept his grip on the Pharaoh's arm. "What is it?"

"Break the mirror."

"Then do it."

"No." The Pharaoh took a deep breath before gesturing at the mirror. "I'd be stuck on the other side. If we sever the connection, then all of them snap shut because of the shock. There would be no way back."

"I'm sure you visited Paris at least once in your travels before you met me."

"I have, but I meant for you." Yugi tensed as the Pharaoh turned to look at him. "Yugi, I could stand to wait out the centuries if I can't get a ride back, you can't. There's no food on the ship and barely enough in the TARDIS for the two of you. You'd both die, Yugi." The Pharaoh reached up, brushing aside Yugi's bangs and gently resting his fingers on the human's forehead. "And that's if this doesn't kill you."

"I can keep it under control." Yugi gave the Time Lord a smile, the Pharaoh not soothed by the expression. He sighed, pulling away from the Pharaoh and giving him a push towards the mirror. "Go. I know you'll get back to us."

"Yugi…"

"Take the horse, save Reinette. I'll see you back here Pharaoh." Yugi tried to hide the tremble in his voice, sure that the Pharaoh heard it.

The Time Lord stared at him before sighing, pulling Yugi into a hug and holding him close. Yugi clung to the Pharaoh, trying to remind himself that this wasn't really the end. He trusted the Time Lord to get back to him, and that was enough for now. If Yugi couldn't trust the Pharaoh, then he had no right to be out here in the universe. He took a deep breath before pulling away, surprised when the Pharaoh pressed a quick kiss to his forehead before walking off to find the horse.

Yugi stared after him before slumping against the console, holding onto the metal to keep himself upright. He looked up at Joey came over, the blonde partially focused on what was going on in the grand ballroom. "So, we're marooning ourselves here?"

"He'll come back." Yugi perked up as he heard the sound of hooves, watching as the Pharaoh led the horse into the console room. They stared at each other for a moment before the Pharaoh turned away, placing a foot in the stirrup and swinging himself up into the saddle. The horse shifted nervously, the Pharaoh reaching down to calm it before he glanced up at Yugi, giving the human a quick salute.

Yugi returned the motion, his arm snapping back down to his side quickly as Joey spoke. "How long are you going to wait, Yugi?"

He stared at the Pharaoh, watching at the Time Lord trotted the horse around the room, probably looking for the best approach to the mirror. They would only have one shot at this, and the Pharaoh had to make it. It was why the Time Lord was concentrating and not looking at Yugi. It was why Yugi's stomach kept twisting itself into knots, the fact that they had little time, not the fact that they would probably never see each other again. He took a deep breath as the Pharaoh seemed to decide on his course, urging the horse into a canter as he circled the room again. "As long as it takes."

* * *

"Pharaoh! Please, the clock on the mantel is broken! They're here, Pharaoh!" Reinette shrieked as she was hauled away from the fireplace, kicking in the faint hope that she would hit one of the clockwork droids that had plagued her existence. Thankfully, the king was not there, she had asked him to flee earlier, pretending it was to save his life; she didn't want him to see her die if the Pharaoh was late. Reinette calmed herself at that thought, reminding herself that the Pharaoh would be coming to save her before she stopped struggling, yanking her arm out of the grip of one of the droids. "I can manage on my own."

As she had hoped, the droids hesitated, leaving her to take advantage of her moment of confusion. She lifted her chin up and strode towards the ballroom, the place where the droids had first appeared. One still held onto her arm, but it was more of an escort than a guard on her person. She would return to the ballroom of her own free will instead of a prisoner. There were still people in there, frightened people that she had to set an example for. If she could get them all out, then she would be hailed as a hero. It would be better if she could be alive for that acclaim, but Reinette would settle for small miracles at the moment.

One hand reached down to straighten her skirts as Reinette walked into the ballroom, taking a look at all the frightened and screaming courtiers. She sighed before raising her voice, watching as heads turned to look at her. "Please, a little dignity. Remember that you are French and show these creatures what your true spirit is."

She yelped as she was forced to kneel before the creatures, seething at the move; she would kneel to no one but the king. Reinette rolled her shoulder, wincing at the slight pain there. Apparently, her body was not important to them, or they wouldn't risk the harm to it. She blinked as she remembered Yugi's warning, swallowing at the reminder of what they were after. Reinette straightened herself, keeping her posture even as she was forced to kneel on the ground. "Whatever you want me for, know that I will not walk from this place willingly. I have no need to see your world."

"We have no need for your feet." She leaned back as the nearly droid deployed a knife from its sleeve, staring at the blade before shaking her head.

"You may take my brain by force, but let it be known that I will crash that ship of yours at the first chance I get. I will not suffer to be made simply a part of a-" She cut herself off at the faint sound of a whinny, looking around to see where the horse was coming from. For a moment, her heart started to beat faster. The king was coming back to save them, that stupid, brave man! She had told him to get away. But that hope died quickly as she realized that the sound of hoof beats weren't coming from the entryway. Instead they were coming from a grand ornate mirror that hung over the small fireplace. Her eyes widened at that, wondering why the sound of a horse would be coming from the other side of a mirror before the glass shattered.

She shrieked, covering her head and neck to avoid being cut, glancing out from under her arms to see the other people scattering to get away from the rain of glass. Curious as to what was causing it, Reinette peeked further out from under her arms, staring in awe at the rider as the horse completely its jump, cantering over the floor of the ballroom. She smiled at the Pharaoh, watching as he slowly returned the expression, pulling at the reins to get the horse to stop. The grey animal snorted but slowed, flattening its ears as one of the clockwork droids got too close. The Pharaoh reached out to pet the horse's neck before sliding off its back, looking around the ballroom before glancing down at Reinette. "Are you alright?"

He took a step forward, stopped only by the blade that the clockwork droid had, leaning back a bit as the droid tried to threaten him with it. The Pharaoh rolled his eyes. "You're useless now. The window is closed…no one can get back."

The Pharaoh glanced wistfully back at the mirror, Reinette following his gaze and finding that behind the shattered glass was a brick wall. For a moment, she was disappointed, some part of her had always wanted to see the world that the Pharaoh had come from, the world that allowed him to skip easily through her life as she aged; but another part of her was too much of a coward to even think of venturing into that world, preferring to imagine shining cities of gold instead of facing the real thing. She swallowed as she looked back at the Pharaoh, noticing that he didn't seem to be too affected by the fact that he could never get back, Reinette looking away in the next minute.

The droids all gave a soft whirr, the one standing closest to the Pharaoh slumping first. Reinette watched with wide eyes as the other slumped as well, one even toppling over. More glass shattered on the floor as the creature's head cracked open, gears spilling out onto the ballroom floor. Reinette swallowed nervously, looking up at the Pharaoh as he offered her a hand. She took it, standing up carefully and looking around at the destruction, the ballroom littered with glass and gears, but at least the people were safe. Reinette sighed at that, making a mental note to have a messenger go and retrieve the king from his hiding place. It was over now and there was no need to worry.

She smiled to herself before motioning for one of the servants to come closer, giving him a gentle push in the direction of the horse. "Care for my guest's mount and send someone in to clean up this mess. Also, send someone to get the king, tell him that it is safe."

There were a few scattered cheers from the courtiers before they began to scatter back to their rooms, some of the ladies having to be revived from where they had fainted because of the excitement. Reinette watched them go, too aware of the hand that she still held, looking up at the Pharaoh. Part of her was not surprised that he was looking up at the mirror, the only way back into his world. She sighed, wanting to tighten her grip on his hand and pull him away; she was confident enough that she could make him forget Yugi, but she couldn't bring herself to do that. Yugi had been the kind imaginary friend of her childhood, once the only person she thought cared about her and not her image. Yugi had warned her about this attack when he could have remained silent; she owed him for this, even though it hurt to do so.

She offered the Pharaoh a smile when he looked her way, not even sure that the man saw it. Reinette sighed, taking a better grip on his hand before beginning to tow him away, the Pharaoh not putting up any resistance. What good mood she was in from having the Pharaoh here disappeared with that, it was like he had decided to stop living, something that frightened her. She bit her lip, glancing up as they wove through the hallways, quickly coming to her decision. She could not allow him to wither here; she would search for a way to send him back to Yugi, even if she spent the rest of her life searching for that way. She closed her eyes with a sigh. If only she had never fallen in love with him at her fireplace…

Her fireplace. Reinette's eyes snapped open, a smile crossing her face. Of course, she had planned for something like this. She walked faster, nearly dragging the Pharaoh behind her as she headed to her rooms. She was prepared for him to balk or stutter out some excuse as to why he couldn't, but the Pharaoh remained silent, Reinette turning to look back at him before increasing her pace. She would probably hate herself forever for letting this man go, but she had the king for now and that would be enough. She would make it be enough.

They stepped into her room, Reinette smiling when she noticed that the Pharaoh actually seemed to come back to life, sobering when she realized that he was regarding the bed in the room. Reinette sighed and pushed the man to sit on the bed, walking away from him and over to one of her windows to open it, staring up into the starry sky above Versailles. She shifted so that she would be able to see him, watching him as she spoke. "I often wondered where you went when you left me. From the things I saw in your head, I used to make up adventures about you and Yugi off in the stars, saving the day. You would come back for me sometimes and I would go with you. We would laugh and you would show me another world. Those thoughts entertained me during boring dinners and the long winter."

The Pharaoh still hadn't moved, but he was paying attention to her, Reinette smiling at him before lifting her finger to point to a star. "I spent hours staring at the sky, trying to determine where I wanted to go before I decided that I would want to go there first. What planets are over there?"

She heard the Pharaoh move from the bed, the man coming to stand with her by the window. He glanced at where her finger pointed before sighing. "The closest would be Raxacoricofallapatorious and her sister planet, Clom."

"Such fantastic names." Reinette sighed, leaning on the windowsill before shaking her head. "And I dreamed up such fantastic adventures with my two imaginary friends. But all girls must grow up and I think it's time to say good-bye to my friends."

"Reinette, I'm stuck here. There's no use-"

"I will show you." She took his hand again, feeling tears come to her eyes. Slightly angry with her inability to control her emotions, she wiped them away, leading the Pharaoh into her sitting room and gesturing at the fireplace at the other end. "I brought it here when Yugi warned me about what could happen, I wanted a way for you to get in here if you needed to. I made sure that everything is exactly the same as before, but I'm not an expert in such things."

The look of joy on the Pharaoh's face was reward enough for her, Reinette stepping back and allowing the Pharaoh to rush over to the fireplace. He ran a hand over the mantel, sparing a glance at the broken clock before looking over at her. "There's still a faint connection, probably enough to keep it connected to the ship. When you removed it from your old home, it severed most of the connection, probably enough to keep it online while everything else shut down."

"Can it get you back?"

The Pharaoh gave the mantel a whack, Reinette smiling as the fireplace made strange sounds, the Pharaoh turning to look at her. "Yes."

"Then this is farewell."

"Reinette." The Pharaoh hesitated for a moment before sighing. "Stay here, I'll find Yugi and then we'll come back for you. We'll take you to Raxacoricofallapatorious, Clom…whatever planet you would like to see. Bravery should be rewarded."

"Thank you." Reinette settled herself in her chair, smiling faintly as he watched the Pharaoh ready himself, ignoring the voice in the back of her head that said that this was farewell. "I will await your return, Pharaoh."

He gave her a bow before activating the fireplace, Reinette watching the structure spin. She kept her smile on even as it switched back, leaving her in the silence of her room with only the faint crackle of the fire for company. Reinette straightened her skirts, taking a deep breath as she carefully watching the fireplace, continuing to ignore the voice in the back of her head. For now, she would be optimistic. The king would not call for her tonight, not while the court was in such a state, it would be a good few days until he would need her services again, enough time for her to take her little adventure.

She didn't watch the clock, falling asleep as the flames slowly died in the fireplace, resting comfortably in her chair as she awaited the return of the Pharaoh.

* * *

Yugi heard the strange clunk of machinery, turning around as he saw the Pharaoh appearing as the fireplace spun around. He laughed, racing across the room to hug the Pharaoh, Joey coming rushing in after him. Yugi ducked the friendly blow to the shoulder, unable to control his laughter as the Pharaoh winced. "That's for leaving us behind."

"I warned you about what would happen."

Joey stared at him for a moment before slouching back to the TARDIS, muttering about aliens. Yugi laughed, stilling clinging to the Pharaoh. He carefully pulled himself away as the Pharaoh moved back, staring at the fireplace and then at Yugi. The human didn't quite know how to take this sudden nervousness, about to ask the Pharaoh what was going one when the Time Lord finally spoke.

"They all stopped, because they had no purpose, no connection to the ship. By now, they're all probably disassembled by the command of King Louis, so we're safe." The Pharaoh glanced back at the fireplace before turning to look at Yugi again. "I promised Reinette that we would take her to a few planets."

"Right. Then let's go get her." Yugi withheld a laugh at the surprised look on the Pharaoh's face, standing next to the fireplace as he waited for the Time Lord to activate it. "She put up with us for so many years, it's only fair. But be careful, Pharaoh, you're starting to collect us humans. Where's that big heart of ice that you used to have?"

"You melted it." He froze as the Pharaoh spoke, not knowing how to take those words. Yugi forced himself to just smile, relaxing as the Pharaoh leaned forward. "Be more careful with that time vortex next time."

"Aye, aye captain." The Pharaoh smirked and activated the fireplace, Yugi clinging to the structure as they were spun around, surprised at the change of rooms. The Pharaoh hadn't explained to him why this one still worked, but he was willing to wait on the explanation until they were back in the TARDIS with Reinette.

He stepped away from the fireplace, glancing around the dimly lit room before walking over to a window, hissing as he saw the dark clouds looming overhead. "Bad weather for France."

"Come on, Reinette should be somewhere in here. These are her rooms." Yugi moved away from the window with a nod, glancing around what he assumed to be a sitting room before walking over to the next door, opening it and peering into the bedroom. He stared at the room from his place at the door before walking inside, quickly checking things over, blushing the entire time; it felt too much like invading someone's privacy. He backed out as soon as he was done, going through the door that the Pharaoh had chosen.

He was surprised to see that there was a man in the room, glancing at the Pharaoh before walking towards the Time Lord, noticing that the windows were open and the man was staring out them. Yugi tensed as the man looked back at them, his eyes widening before he returned to his vigil at the windows. "She told me about you two many times and I laughed and called her silly…my silly Reinette. But it appears that she was telling the truth. Oh, if you had only come sooner, although, I think you would have liked it less then."

Yugi glanced up at the Pharaoh before looking at the man again. "W-where's Reinette?"

"She's returning to Paris, for the last time." Yugi tensed at that, walking quickly over to the windows to see what was going on below. His eyes widened as he saw a cart drawn by two black horses move through the courtyard towards the gate, unable to tear his gaze away from the coffin that rested in the cart, surrounded by flowers. He jumped as the man spoke again, realizing that he was shaking. "She was only forty-three when she died, far too young."

Rain started to fall outside, Yugi's vision of the downpour blurring as tears came to his eyes. He turned away, surprised to find that the Pharaoh had walked up behind him. The Time Lord glanced down at Yugi before pulling him into a hug, Yugi clinging to him as he tried to control his tears. He managed to swallow them back, shaking as he tried to keep himself under control. It was alright to cry over something like this, he knew that much, but he wanted to get back to the TARDIS and do it in private, not out in the open here. Yugi took a calming breath and looked back over at the king, the man staring at the two of them.

"She was right when she said you never aged." The king shrugged, seeming to lose interest in them as he went back to staring out the window. "She left you something, a note on the desk."

The Pharaoh moved away to retrieve the envelope from the desk, Yugi glancing out the window one last time before walking back toward the fireplace. The king didn't even seem to see them go, Yugi pausing to look at the man before going to join the Pharaoh at the fireplace. The Time Lord looked at the letter that Reinette had left them before hitting the switch, Yugi hanging on as the fireplace swung back into the ship. He was handed the letter before he stepped off, the Pharaoh taking his sonic screwdriver and aiming it at the fireplace. Yugi saw a spark from the mantel, a few more following it before the fire went out, Yugi assuming that the Pharaoh had closed the connection for good.

He wiped the few tears that had managed to escape off his face before turning to walk back to the TARDIS, the Pharaoh catching up with him. The Pharaoh held the door open, Yugi quickly walking in and looking up the ramp. Joey smiled from his place sprawled out over the captain's chair, bounding up to his feet only to come to a stop when he saw the looks on their faces. He glanced around before swallowing nervously. "Man, what happened?"

"She's dead. We," Yugi cleared his throat to keep it from cracking, "we missed her."

"Oh." Joey glanced at the two of them before nodding, making a vague motion towards the rest of the TARDIS before leaving them alone, Yugi thanked his friend for that. He didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment, wanting to find a place where he could tuck himself away and deal with the loss of Rienette. He flopped onto the captain's chair, drawing his knees up to his chest and staring up at the Pharaoh, surprised to see the Time Lord looking at him. They sat in silence for a while before he finally opened the envelope, the two of them surprised when two separate letters fell out.

Yugi slid out of the captain's chair, picking up the one that had fallen to the floor and turning it over in his hands. Written on the front in neat cursive handwriting was his name. He glanced up at the Pharaoh before deciding to retreat to his room. He would leave the Time Lord to grieve however he liked and he needed the time on his own. Yugi sighed and walked into his room, flopping down onto his bed and carefully unfolding the paper.

For a moment, the words appeared in French, Yugi tipping his head to the side before the TARDIS translated it, Yugi managing to smile up at the TARDIS before he turned his attention to the letter, gently smoothing it out in places so that he could read it. His eyes skimmed over the first few words, taking a deep breath as tears threatened to spill over again before he forced himself to concentrate.

_Yugi, it has been many long years since we last saw each other and I can bet that you have not changed one bit, not that I would ever want you to change. I want for you to always be the man who was able to comfort a scared young girl no matter what, the man who taught me to be brave and, perhaps, smile a bit more. Oh, but it was fun while it lasted, the friendship between you and I, but I fear that it is coming to an end, and that end is my fault more that your own. You and the Pharaoh have found the one short path that I could never find, so I wither away as I hope for the day that you will return and show me all of those fantastic places that I always imagined you visiting. Some part of me knows that it will never be, but I can still keep wishing and wish I will._

 _There is another thing that concerns me, Yugi, the Pharaoh. I saw him when he thought he would never be returning and realized how much you mean to him. Please, do not turn him away because of your fear; he needs you more than he will ever tell you. If I cannot have him, then the only one who is good enough is you. Please, take care of our lonely angel._

 _Reinette_

Yugi bit his lip and folded the letter up, losing his fight to hold back his tears. He reached over to place the letter on his nightstand before curling up under the covers, blindly reaching out for the nearest plushie to cuddle with. His found Kuriboh and the Blue Eyes White Dragon, holding them close to him as he cried, remembering the brave young woman who he had watched grow up.

* * *

The Pharaoh retreated to the library immediately after Yugi left, holding his letter from Reinette close. Like Yugi, he wanted to find a play away from prying eyes, although he knew that he wasn't going to break down, he had shed all his tears for Gallifrey at the end of the Time War. He just wanted to be alone to think over what had happened, and what he could have done.

The most obvious thing would have been to use the TARDIS, but the presence of the time windows had rendered him unable to land in those time periods, acting like mini time locks and it would take more time to break into those sections than to just use the windows that were already on the ship. The Pharaoh sighed and rubbed his forehead, pushing open the door to the library and walking into the room.

He barely looked at the huge bookshelves, all of them full or the stacks of books on the floor. He focused on the couch that was placed with its back to him, walking over and swinging himself over the back to flop down on the red velvet cushions. The Pharaoh sighed, leaning back against the arm rest of the couch and staring up at the ceiling. His hands went to open the letter from Reinette, the Time Lord glancing down at the paper before finding another place to look. Everything had its time and everything died, it was the universal truth that he had learned to live with. But why did it feel like he had failed Reinette more than he had saved her? Probably because he had left her waiting, hoping that he would come back.

The Pharaoh groaned, glancing at the fireplace. He was not surprised to see that the TARDIS had a fire going, probably trying to comfort him. He smiled up at the ceiling to show his gratitude before looking around the library again. He didn't focus on it as much as he should, the room being an almost exact copy of the one that had been in his house on Gallifrey. The Pharaoh sighed and closed his eyes, imagining that he was back on Gallifrey for a moment before shaking the thought away. Gallifrey would never come back; all of this was just nostalgia that Reinette had triggered when she had looked into his memories.

At the thought of Reinette, the Pharaoh looked at the letter that he held in his hands, turning it over slowly. He could easily store this away somewhere and forget about it or burn it, anything to not have to deal with the memories of Reinette; but he knew that it would just add to all the guilt that he was carrying around. Besides, Yugi had gotten a letter and Yugi would still be affected by the letter. The Pharaoh bit his lip before rolling his eyes. It was just words on paper; he had to keep reminding himself that. It was just the words of a dead woman on paper; there was nothing else to it. He took a deep breath before looking at the letter, the TARDIS automatically translating the French.

_My dear Pharaoh, the path has never seemed more slow and yet I fear I am nearing its end. Reason tells me that you and I are unlikely to meet again but I think I shall not listen to reason. I have seen the world inside your head and know all things are possible. Hurry though, my days grow shorter now and I am so very weak. God speed, my lonely angel._

He froze, reading over the letter again before he could stop himself, aware that he was shaking. The Pharaoh glanced up at the fire before acting, tossing the letter into the fire, the words already memorized. He swallowed nervously, watching the letter burn before he rolled onto his side, facing the back of the couch as he shook. This was why he never dealt with good-byes, he came and went. He didn't want to be reminded of what he was, the one that would always be there after everyone had died. He wanted to be able to hold the memory of the person as they once were in his mind, to be able to convince himself that they had never died in the first place. But that was all futile.

He was the last of the Time Lords, a race that lived far too long and had lorded over the galaxy for far too long. He would still be standing while civilizations fell, planets burned and people, good people, died. And he would have to walk away and keep living like it meant nothing. He had already seen so much destruction in his life that it was too easy to grow cold and let his Time Lord sensibilities take control, but that's why he needed his companions. He had seen what this had done to other Time Lords and he didn't want to become them, so he asked humans along to keep him feeling. But it hurt so much to feel, it almost wasn't worth it.

The Pharaoh gave the couch a halfhearted punch, slowly rolling back onto his back as he stared up at the ceiling. He could have gotten there to help her, he could have. If he had checked or fixed the connection first before just going back, assuming that all would be alright, Reinette could have seen those stars that she had dreamed about. He knew that the fireplace had a loose connection, they had been jumping into different parts of her life before it was removed from Reinette's home; instillation in Versailles could have just made the malfunction worse. And he had known all of that, known all of that and ignored it.

He sighed, closing his eyes as he lay on the couch. He didn't cry, couldn't cry, and something was pulling at him to move on. Time Lords spent a period mourning but then they moved on, as relentless as the march of time itself. He rubbed a hand over his face, forcing himself to linger over Reinette for a moment more. He would never forget her, there were many that he would never forget, but she wouldn't get the tears or the bouts of sorrow from him, just stabs of guilt for what he could have done. The Pharaoh wished he was human now, able to actually mourn more than remember her life for what it was without emotion. If only his cousins had been right, if only he had been less than a Time Lord…

The Pharaoh pushed the thought away, lulled into a doze by the warmth of the fire and the soft humming of the TARDIS in her mind, the time machine's attempt at a lullaby. The Pharaoh smiled at that, about to protest that he didn't need any sleep when the TARDIS gave him the mental equivalent of a glare. She would be sure to make him sleep if he didn't on his own. He was about to protest but decided that it wasn't worth the argument. Any remaining thoughts of Reinette were pushed aside, the Pharaoh smiling at the memory of her as a child before letting it go. Tomorrow, he would move on as he should.

He shifted to find a comfortable spot, not hearing the door to the library creak open or the soft footsteps as someone moved across the room, already drifting to sleep.

 _"Son?" He curled closer to the tree, pretending that he didn't hear his father's voice. He didn't want to be found, he just wanted to disappear. And no one would care. In fact, they would celebrate the fact that he was gone. The Pharaoh bit his lip to keep from crying at that thought. He was a Time Lord, he would show them! Time Lords were calm at all times, they didn't care what went on around them as long as time ran straight and true. He would should them; he would be the best out of all of them. And he would never care, emotions got in the way of things. Then they would see who was a true Time Lord._

 _The Pharaoh jumped, surprised to see that his father had climbed up into the tree with him, the Time Lord carefully holding a golden box under his arm. The Pharaoh looked at his father before adjusting his seat on the branch, staring at the bark of the tree. "I'm sorry, father, I did not hear you coming so I did not-"_

 _"There's no need for that." He looked up as his father carefully wedged himself into the tree, wincing as he finally settled into place. Noticing his gaze, his father gave him a smile. "I'm getting too old for this, climbing into trees."_

 _"I'm sorry, father. If I had heard you-"_

 _"I already told you that there was no need for that." The Time Lord settled the box onto his lap, the Pharaoh staring at it before forcing himself to look away. His father just sighed, staring up at the silver leaves of the tree. "I used to come out here all the time when I was your age. I'd sit and look at the stars through the leaves and I'd imagine that I was out there. Of course, then I grew up and got stuck in the offices with the paperwork and I still dream of the stars."_

 _"You were sent out once."_

 _His father's hands tightened on the box for a moment. "Yes, once…"_

 _The Pharaoh waited for his father to finish his thought, looking away when it appeared that his father was done. He adjusted his seat on the branch, looking at the box with interest. The box wasn't that big, just large enough to be cumbersome when carried around and it looked like it was made of solid gold, although the Pharaoh doubted that; if it was solid gold it wouldn't have held up so well. But the designs were what drew his attention, etched scenes of daily life that reminded him of the early history of Gallifrey that he had read about and the hieroglyphs, so much like the writing of his own planet but so different. The Pharaoh resisted the urge to reach out and trace over the pictographs, looking up to find that his father was studying him. An apology was forming when his father spoke again._

 _"I heard about what Karim was taunting you with."_

 _"I…You did?"_

 _"Yes." His father nodded slowly. "And I'm sorry that you have to deal with that. But I'm here to tell you that none of it is true."_

 _"None?"_

 _"You are my son." His father smiled, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. "The heir to the house of One Thousand Years and a full blooded Time Lord."_

 _"But what about-"_

 _"The Looms in the houses are old and known to have glitches every once and a while. It's nothing more than that."_

 _The Pharaoh nodded slowly, his gaze drawn back down to the golden box, the only memento of his father's one journey into time and space. He cleared his throat, the sound drawing his father's attention as he stared at the box. "They say that that had something to do with the glitch, that it made me less Time Lord."_

 _"It's just a box, my son, a gift from a dear friend who died. And they are just jealous because you are the heir to the house and not their sons. For all the peace and calm out here, politics still reach us. Power is a very tempting thing." His father shook his head, softening his words with a smile. "But don't you worry about it, you're too young yet."_

 _"I'll go to the Academy in three years."_

 _"Three? That old already." His father sighed, shaking his head. "You grow too fast for me. I was hoping to enjoy the years I had with you."_

 _"I understand that work keeps you away, father. Besides, you have Mokuba."_

 _"Mokuba is never you. I love you both dearly and want to spend time with the both of you, but the council demands much of me."_

 _The Pharaoh nodded, watching his father shift, the Time Lord obviously going to return to the house for the night. The Pharaoh peered through the leaves, still seeing lights on in his cousins' rooms, meaning that they were probably still awake. Even with his father's reassurances, it would be safer if he didn't try and go back into the house while they were all awake. He glanced back as his father before turning so he could see out a space in the leaves. "You go on in, father. I think I'll stay out here."_

 _"Well, it's been a long time since I've gazed at the stars as well, but I can think of a better place. Come." The Pharaoh glanced over at his father before sliding back down the tree, following the older Time Lord to a slight rise in the orchard, the small hill surrounded by tress. The Pharaoh hesitated as his father placed the golden box on the ground before stretching out beside it, motioning for his son to come over. Cautiously, the Pharaoh lay down on the ground beside his father turning his gaze to the stars. He couldn't help the smile that came to his face as he looked at the stars. He glanced over at his father, the older Time Lord smiling before pointing up, his finger tracing a box of stars with twelve others inside of them. "That's the House of the gods, one star for the twelve gods who we once honored…"_

The Pharaoh started out of his dream at a whimper, turning slightly to realize that Yugi had curled up in a nearby chair, the human partially asleep. The Time Lord stared at his companion for a moment before he got up, carefully picking Yugi up from his chair and carrying him over to the couch. The human twitched in his hold, the Pharaoh cradling him close as he sat down on the couch again, lying back down after a moment of hesitation. He glanced up at Yugi, gently wiping away a tear that rolled down the human's cheek before holding him close. "Don't worry, Yugi, I've got you."

The human mumbled something in his sleep, the Pharaoh gently rubbing his back. It would be a good time to resupply the TARDIS, while Yugi was still recovering from Reinette's death; he didn't want to risk his companion on other planets just yet. Still, there were a couple of sedate bazaars that he knew that Yugi wouldn't mind visiting. A faint smile crossed his face before he turned his head, watching the fire flicker in the fireplace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lines that the Pharaoh sings while drunk is from the Aida song Another Pyramid.


	17. Rise of the Cybermen

** Chapter Sixteen: Rise of the Cybermen **

_"We fell out of the vortex, through the void, into nothingness. We're in some sort of no place. The silent realm. The lost dimension…"  
-The Doctor_

The black car pulled up to the converted warehouse, maneuvering carefully into a parking spot surrounded by trucks. The driver side door opened, a man stepping out of the car and stretching. He smiled and ran a hand through his short black hair before turning and looking at the nearest truck, the smile disappearing as he walked towards the back of the trunk, his gaze trained on a red colored stain on the side. The man stared at the stain, glancing around quickly before raising his phone and snapping a picture of it, turning to lean against the side of the truck as he sent the picture.

"Daniel!" He looked up at the sound of his name, smiling as he watched another man walk up to him. Daniel pushed away from the truck, holding out a hand for the man to shake.

"It's good to see you again, Mr. Satou." They shook hands, the mayor of Domino laughing as he spotted the cell phone in Daniel's hand.

"You still use that old thing."

"It's a bit of a habit actually. And I can't quite give it up."

The mayor laughed again, the two men turning to watch as the zeppelin that had been hovering overhead finally came down for a landing, ropes quickly secured to hold it in place. Daniel sighed, glancing up at the sky where other zeppelins slowly made their way across the city to other parts of Japan, each owned by a private individual, someone with money. The rest of them were stuck on the ground with cars or they had to walk, not that Daniel minded any of those things. Even though he had the money to buy and keep his own zeppelin, his fear of heights kept him from going to join the rest of the upper class in the sky. He sighed, turning his attention back to the zeppelin, surprised when two workers brought out a body from the zeppelin, hurrying it away.

Satou and Daniel exchanged concerned glances before walking towards the ramp that led into the zeppelin, Daniel busy looking around at Satou talked. "He wasn't due to touch down in a few days, which means he's come up with something. Have you heard anything? Most of the stuff he makes goes through your company."

"It's not my company." Daniel gave a weak smile before shaking his head. "And I haven't heard a thing. All I hear is plans for the party, how I'm not to tell anyone that she's turning forty and that she's getting too fat."

"Ah, the joys of a wife." Satou shook his head and patted Daniel's shoulder. "At least it will be over soon."

"Yeah." Daniel paused at the foot of the ramp, glancing back towards Domino. His hand tightened on the railing momentarily before he moved again, staring at the metal ramp. "It's her choice anyway. I just thought that we could be happy."

"Sometimes you miss." Satou shrugged, waiting for him at the top of the ramp. "And sometimes you are lucky enough to catch the right one right away. Just keep searching, Daniel, you'll find someone."

"Probably." He muttered the word as they walked into the zeppelin, Daniel looking around at the expensive décor, the interior imitating the expensive mansions that the English had brought over when they conquered the island nation. He sighed, rubbing his temples in the dim hope that it would prevent a headache. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to retreat to the little shop on Uno Street and focus on the simpler task of selling games. But, that was what he got for volunteering to deal with one of their suppliers. Daniel forced himself not to sigh again, glancing up as they were led into a hug room, one of the servants gesturing for them to take a seat. Wine was served, Daniel ignoring it; he would have enough to drink come tonight during his wife's birthday party.

"Gentleman, I'm glad you could come." He looked up as Noa Kaiba was pushed in by another servant, the young man shifting in his wheelchair before leaning over one of the keypads, probably adjusting something on the chair. Having barely survived the accident that had killed his father, the wheelchair was the only thing that was keeping Noa alive at this moment, and it wouldn't be for much longer. Once a tabloid story, the public's fears were coming true. Noa Kaiba, the inventor of most of the devices that made their lives easier, was dying. But it was impossible to tell that from the way Noa conducted himself, a flurry of activity as he tried to work faster. Daniel couldn't help but smile, the smile dying as he remembered. His son would have been the same age as Noa come June. He glanced at the floor, barely preventing himself from cursing aloud.

Noa didn't seem to notice his near slip up, smiling at the both of them and reclining in his chair. Daniel glanced over at Satou, noticing that the mayor looked disturbed. "We saw a body, Noa, as you landed."

He thought he saw a flash of anger across Noa's face before the young man managed to contain himself. "Ah yes, it was just an accident. Some wires got loose on our latest experiment and he was in the way." Noa shook his head sadly. "He was a brilliant scientist and I'm sad to see him go. As we speak, my staff is looking into his personal records, just to see what I can do for his family. It is my fault that he is dead after all."

"My condolences."

Noa nodded, staring at the table before perking up a bit. "But he wouldn't have wanted us to hold back, especially with my latest project nearly complete. All that waits is your approval, Mayor Satou and I intend to get it here."

He smiled before leaning back and pushing a button, Daniel turning in place to stare at the screen that was slowly revealed as bits of wood paneling drew back. He leaned back in his chair, raising an eyebrow as the narrator began to speak. "Cybus Industries, a Kaiba Corporation company, proudly presents our newest technological advancement, compatible with the Cybus EarBuds."

The screen displayed a computer generated head, the familiar Cybus EarBuds in place. Daniel watched as two rods of metal grew from the EarBuds and connected over the head of the person, tipping his head to the side so he could watch Noa as the presentation went on. "With this new advancement, connection to the internet at the world will be faster as well as the added bonus that any life threatening emergence will be called in immediately if the owner loses consciousness. Finishing touches and final test runs are being complete on the metal suit, perfect for those who have lost their mobility and wish to regain it. The process involves a harmless brain transplant-"

"That's enough." Noa looked shocked as the mayor stood up, stopping the presentation regardless. Daniel turned in his seat to watch as Noa and Satou stared at each other. It was the mayor who looked away first with a long sigh. "Noa, they won't go for this."

"But, it'll help people!"

"I know it will, Noa, but the industry will still think it's too inhumane. People want their own body back before they are thrown into another!" Satou rubbed his hands together, looking nervous. He finally shrugged and slumped back into his seat. "Noa, you are a brilliant young man, but this just won't work. Have you tried to work with the human body itself?"

"The boards that will license me won't let me! They say it's too inhumane as well!" Noa pushed away from the table, wheeling the chair over to them. "I've tried all the ways I can think of. This is the only way left! I'm even ready to test it on myself if it will convince them."

"You know they won't let you, Noa. You're too much of an asset."

"I have months to live. I don't want to die, Mayor Satou, I'm too young. Will they deny me the chance to live because of this?"

There was silence in the room, Daniel turned to walk Satou think it over, the mayor of Domino standing up again and pushing the chair back. "I will speak to them and try and help with your case, but that may take a while, Noa."

The young man stared at him before nodding, glaring at the table. Noa gripped the arm rests of his chair viciously, Daniel worried about Noa's stillness until the young man relaxed, a winning smile on his face. "Thank you for your efforts, Mayor Satou. And it was good to see you again, Daniel. Give Solomon my regards."

"I will." Daniel turned to leave, stopping as Noa called out to him. He turned around, Noa wheeling up to him.

"I sent your wife's birthday present in the mail, since I didn't know if I would be back in time. Have you got it?"

"Small box about this big?" Daniel gestured the size of the box Noa nodding emphatically. "Yes."

"Thank goodness. I spent hours making sure those were perfect for Junri."

"See you at the party then?"

"If my health allows me. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Take care of yourself then." Daniel waved goodbye to Noa before walking through the corridors, hurrying after Satou. He spotted the mayor standing next to his chauffeur, waving to his friend before heading back to his own car. He would see the mayor later tonight at his wife's party. Daniel slipped into his car, backing it out of the spot before heading back towards Domino. For a moment, he considered going back home but decided not to. He wouldn't be able to go past the cemetery without visiting his son's grave, something that he didn't feel up to yet, not after seeing Noa. But Noa always had that affect on him; it reminded him that not everything turned out well, like he needed that reminder.

Instead, he headed towards the suburbs of the city, rolling down his window and waving at the kids who recognized him, easily picking out the Kame Game Shop. The little shop was still as brightly painted as ever, Daniel feeling his back twinge at the memory of repainting the shop himself, laughing at that. He pulled into the space in the back, sliding out of his car and walking in through the backdoor of the shop, listening to the happy chatter of children as he walked towards the counter.

Once the Kame Game Shop had been small, attached to a house where Solomon had lived while he sold games. But then Noa Kaiba had offered a deal, a deal too good to refuse. By being the first store to get any of the games that Kaiba Corporation developed and getting exclusive rights to selling some of the technology that they came up with, the Kame Game Shop had quickly expanded to a national line of stores, going international two years later. Daniel smiled at the memories, turning to look towards the sound of laughter, easily spotting the owner of the store.

Solomon Mutou was helping the children with their purchases, chatting with them as he rang up the items. Daniel smiled at his father-in-law, quickly moving to his usual position. The children waved at him before returning to their conversations, Solomon not looking his way until the line had dwindled to nothing, giving Daniel a long look. "You left just before the rush came."

"Sorry, Solomon. Noa Kaiba called me in for something."

"Ah, Noa. How is he?"

"Dying."

"Ah." Solomon nodded slowly, leaning against the counter. "The poor boy, he doesn't deserve all of that on top of the company that he has to run. And no one seems to want to help him; we value his brain more than the actual person. Mark my words, it will call trouble."

Daniel nodded slowly. "Speaking of trouble, Junri's party tonight."

"God spare me." Solomon sighed, looking up at Daniel. "Do I have to go? I've had enough of the upper class snubbing me for keeping this little place. Can't I just remain here?"

"Only if I can hide with you. But I can't. I have to play the good husband and pretend that we aren't getting a divorce as soon as the social season slows. Sorry, you might have to come with us."

They worked in silence, straightening up the shop and putting on smiles as more kids flooded in, Daniel finding it hard to fake his smile. He enjoyed working around kids, more than working around the adults that took care of the other Kame Game Shops. Here with Solomon, it was better, none of that frantic rush where money was the glorious result that they worked for. Here, they were just hoping to get a genuine smile from a kid.

Daniel glanced at Solomon, the elderly man helping a group of children find something in the store, leaning on his elbow against the counter. Solomon was the father that he had always wanted, not that his own father was horrible. He smiled at the memory of when the two men had met, wondering how the rest of their family stayed sane with the two of them together. The last time his father had been over had been for their wedding, he had stopped after... Daniel pushed away from the counter, clearing his throat to push back the tears that threatened to fall.

He threw himself into his work, chatting half heartedly with the kids, knowing that Solomon noticed his somber mood. But this happened every time he came back from seeing Noa and got worse the close it came to June fourth. Daniel glanced up from the kid that he was helping, surprised to see that Solomon was at the door, flipping the sign to close, the store deserted. He blinked, giving Solomon a sheepish smile as he pushed away from the counter.

"Off in another world again?"

"Yeah."

Solomon hummed, reaching for his broom. The elderly man paused for a moment, his hand hovering over the handle of the broom before he looked back at Daniel. "Are you visiting him today?"

"Of course."

"Alright." Solomon nodded, Daniel turning to help with his portion of cleaning up the shop, making a mental note to stop somewhere and get flowers, it had been a while since he had replaced the ones already on the grave.

* * *

"Noa, this might not be the best-"

"Quiet Crump, I know what I'm doing." Noa leaned out as far as he position in the wheelchair would allow. He glared at the hated thing, adjusting the blanket that rested across his knees. If only he was out of the wheelchair, he didn't care how. He was even willing to partake in any of the surgeries that they offered to him, even if there wasn't guaranteed that he would survive. It didn't matter, he wanted a chance to leave the chair and actually walk out there. He raised his glare to the dashboard, a smile crossing his face as the truck turned into a dump, eyeing the homeless that gathered around a small fire with glee.

"Sir, it isn't even authorized."

"They will never authorize it in my lifetime. And that will be too late for me." He leaned forward, pressing his fingers against the window as they drove by the homeless people, the truck shifting to back up. "I don't care if this body survives; my brain is all that matters. My brain is me and this is the only way to save it. The government can try to bring me down but they will never succeed. After all, they all depend on me so much and most of their military weapons belong to me, but that doesn't matter either. With this, I'll be indestructible."

He smirked as the truck came to a stop, leaning back in his chair as Crump got out of the truck, a few of the factory workers going with him. Noa closed his eyes and waited, smiling to himself as he listening to the conversation that was going on outside.

"Step right up, boys! Kaiba Corporation is offering food to the homeless, part of our new campaign to end poverty it Japan. I talked Noa down from starting with the world." There was scattered laughter from the group of people, Noa tilting his head so he could see out of one of the side mirrors, smirking. Crump was doing a good job of convincing them; he would give the man that. Noa sighed, the corner of his mouth twitching up in an attempt to smile as he continued to watch. "So come on up, we've got a hot meal waiting for you."

"Only a hot meal?" Noa winced at the new voice, shifting awkwardly until he could see the speaker. A pretty blonde woman spoke up, the woman standing to the side of the truck with one of her hands placed on her hip. Noa seethed, she was going to mess all of this up with her questions. Hopefully, Crump would be able to think fast on this one, he didn't want to implicated in this. He watched her until she strolled out of his line of sight, still able to hear her. "They'll need more than just a hot meal."

"Something is better than nothing and we can only act as fast as we have manpower for. As of now, Noa is convincing other company owners to throw in their full support. So, for now, it is only a hot meal. But two days from now it could be a steady job, or a place to live. Take what little things you can."

"And what about the disappearances?" Noa growled, tempted to order Crump to throw this woman in the back of the truck, she would ruin everything. His hands tightened their grips on the arm rests of his wheelchair. He needed this done now if it was going to happen before he died, he needed to see that he could help people or the start of his empire, either one would work for him. He coughed, throat tightening. Blindly, he reached for the oxygen mask that was always kept close, placing it over his mouth. Noa breathed steadily, feeling himself calm down a bit. Sure that he would live for the moment, he returned his focus to the conversation, watching as the blonde stormed away. "I have proof, enough to send any one of you to jail!"

He spotted a camera in her hands, his curse muffled by the mask over his face. Noa watched her carefully, trying to memorize everything about the woman so he could take care of her later. She had long blonde hair that waved slightly and pale skin, probably the descendant of one of the English lords who had divided up Japan. What stood out were her purple eyes, a color that could have been considered pretty by other men, but Noa had no interest. He gave her another long stare before facing forward again, carefully removing the oxygen mask and breathing by himself for a moment. At least his lungs hadn't completely collapsed yet; he wasn't looking forward to that part at all.

The door to the truck opened, Noa watching Crump clamber back in out of the corner of his eye. He gave his lackey a nod, staring at the heaps of garbage ahead of them. "Good job."

"Thank you, sir."

"Especially with that woman."

"She's just a local, sir. They stick their noses into everything."

"I see." Noa nodded, his fingers tapping out a rhythm on the armrest of his wheelchair, turning to Crump before nodding. "I'll see what I can do with her, don't bother yourself with it."

"Yes, sir."

"No, let's get this done." Noa ignored the rote response from Crump, leaning back in his wheelchair and closing his eyes. It felt good to be outside again, his own embarrassment about being stuck in a wheelchair keeping him in his zeppelin. But he had forgotten how good it felt to just sit and feel the sun on his face; then again, it was probably his impeding death that was affecting his thoughts. Still, the sun did feel good, nice and warm during this cold spell they were going through. He settled back with a smile on his face, the sun warming his skin and the screams from the homeless people in the back off the truck calming him.

* * *

The Pharaoh looked up as Yugi walked into the console room, the human no longer reeking of smoke, although he missed the view that Yugi's half burnt off shirt had afforded him. He shook his head at that thought, waving Yugi over to come and sit by him. It was only when Yugi flopped down in the captain's chair that the Pharaoh realized that it put them very close together, not that he minded. He draped an arm over the back of the chair, watching Yugi carefully for any displeasure before relaxing. His gaze strayed back to the door that led into the interior of the TARDIS, glad to see that Joey hadn't come out yet; he wanted just a little more time with Yugi before he had to move.

"You alright?" Yugi looked up as the Pharaoh asked the question, nodding slowly.

"Yeah, just singed in places, but not really burnt. I escaped that much." Yugi shifted, wincing slightly and resting a hand against his side. The Pharaoh shifted, trying to see what was causing Yugi pain, earning a laugh from his companion. "It just feels like a sunburn, it hurts to move. You worry too much."

"I think he should worry more." Joey stumbled into the room, a bandage still wrapped around the cut he had gotten on the planet. He glared at the Pharaoh before leaning against a nearby column. "Then we might not have been nearly stabbed and burned to death."

The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow. "It wasn't my fault that I didn't have the time to explain all their religious customs before you disappeared with one of their high priestesses!"

"She said that she needed my help! I thought she meant with stuff around the temple, not that." Joey shook his head. "She's not my type."

"They have to be blonde." Yugi leaned over to whisper the comment in the Pharaoh's ear, the Time Lord tensing at the action before forcing himself to relax. He was beginning to read far too much into these things, like why Yugi would seek out him before falling asleep or why they both randomly kissed each other on the forehead during their adventures. It was just them being them; there was no rhyme or reason to it, certainly not the reasons that the Pharaoh hoped for.

"Hey!" Joey shook his finger at Yugi before giving a nervous laugh. "That's just the pattern that they happen to fall into."

"Really now?"

"Come on, Yug', you're making me sound like I don't care about them at all."

"I know you do, Joey. The Pharaoh…"

"The Pharaoh doesn't care about your criteria for selecting mates." The Time Lord ignored the shout of disagreement with Joey before settling back down, sure that he imagined Yugi snuggling closer. He looked down at his companion before glancing up at Joey. "You alright?"

"Yeah, a few minor burns, but the TARDIS gave me some stuff for it. I'll be fine." Joey rolled his shoulder with a long sigh. "I didn't know those things could spit fire like that."

"Recent part of their evolution, their necks were a bit thicker to hold the glands that would allow them to-"

"We get it." Joey groaned as he pulled himself into the fork of a column, giving the Pharaoh a mock glare. "So, where are you going to try and get us killed next?"

"Actually I was planning on an uninhabited planet next." The Pharaoh glanced over at Yugi to gage his reaction, already knowing that Joey was more than ready for a break. "I know a nice one with cool water."

"Mm, sounds like heaven right now."

The Pharaoh smiled at Yugi's reaction, standing up and walking over to the console. He walked around to begin inputting the coordinates, pausing when he heard the TARDIS give an uneasy rumble. The Pharaoh turned, reaching up to pet the TARDIS to comfort her when the whole time machine rocked. He fell to the ground with a yelp, hearing Yugi and Joey fall from their places, only having a moment to worry about them before he was thrown against the console, the lights flickering off in the next moment.

He grunted as he was thrown on the floor again, grabbing a hold of the grating to hold himself down as the TARDIS spun crazily out of control. The Pharaoh tensed as he felt something pressing against his senses, the thing there only for a moment before it was gone, the Pharaoh clinging to the grating. He heard the TARDIS keen in his head, the sound getting louder until it got to the point that all he could hear was the TARDIS screaming, letting go of the grating to cover his ears, even though he knew it wouldn't block out the sound. The next moment he was thrown against the railing, wincing as he head slammed into the metal before the TARDIS landed with a heavy thump, the screaming stopping abruptly.

Groans and curses echoed in the console room as the three picked themselves up, the Pharaoh leaning against the console as a startling fact hit him. He was alone in his head. His eyes went wide, mentally scrambling for any connection to the TARDIS as he knees gave out. Someone caught him before he hit the floor, the Pharaoh curling into the person as he trembled. There wasn't anyone in his head with him anymore; there had always been at least one, whether it was the TARDIS or another Time Lord. The emptiness physically hurt him, the Pharaoh fighting the urge to scream as he tried to get himself to focus, instead falling further into his panic. He didn't know what to do when he was like this.

Then he felt a faint link in the back of his head, reminding him of another Time Lord, but he was too far gone to look into it. He just latched onto it, reveling in the feeling of another's emotions, the Pharaoh nearly laughing as they bubbled down the weak link that he had established. At the moment, he was too happy to care that this Time Lord was frightened and worried, rejoicing in the feeling of having someone else in his head.

He slowly focused on the outside world, finding himself staring at Yugi. The Time Lord in his head relaxed, the Pharaoh watching Yugi do the same, horror filling him as he watched the emotions in his head match Yugi exactly. How could it be possible that Yugi was the presence in his head? How was it possible that Yugi was felt like a Time Lord? He allowed Yugi to pull him off of the floor, leaning back against the console as he studied his companion. The questions could wait until he figured out what had happened, the Pharaoh tipping his head back to look around the darkened console room.

His mouth dropped open in shock, the Time Lord reaching up to touch the time rotor in the center of the console, getting a faint hum before the sound stopped. He watched his hand tremble on the glass before he forced himself to move away from the console, stumbling backwards until he hit the chair, falling into it. Yugi was by his side the next moment, a hand resting on his shoulder as the human stared at the console. "Pharaoh, what is it?"

"She's dead." The words just made it worse, the Pharaoh shivering before forcing himself onward. "The TARDIS is dead."

"What?" He glanced in Joey's direction as he heard the shout, reaching up to grab one of Yugi's hands to steady himself.

"The last TARDIS…and she's dead…"

"Pharaoh, do you know what happened?"

"I," he swallowed, trying to get control of himself again, "I don't know yet. But the TARDIS wouldn't die unless she was badly injured, and we would be dead by then, or her fuel source had been taken away." The Pharaoh frowned at that, standing up slowly as the looked up at the dark ceiling. "But the TARDIS runs off of the energy of the universe and the Rift. She should be good for a long while now after our last fill up. Something must have stripped all of that away from her… Where are we?"

"I don't know." Yugi looked at Joey, the blonde throwing a playful salute before moving over to the doors. "We didn't want to leave without knowing what was going on in here."

"I don't even know if there is an out there." The Pharaoh rubbed a hand over his face. "We could be anywhere or nowhere."

"Or we could be in Domino." Joey leaned against the doors, the Pharaoh sitting up abruptly as the blonde spoke. Joey smirked and jerked his head towards the outside of the TARDIS. "Looks close enough to Domino and our time too."

Yugi beat him to the door, carefully stepping out and turning in a circle, the Pharaoh following his companion. The Time Lord shivered, something about their surroundings feeling off. He turned in place, everything looking the same as it always had until he looked up. The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow at the zeppelins that were floating above their heads. "Well, not your Domino."

Joey and Yugi both looked up, gaping at the zeppelins as the Pharaoh finished his survey, nodding slowly to himself as he suddenly understood where they were. The TARDIS was powered mostly by the energy of the universe, needing to power up on the Rift every once and a while. The only thing that could cut her off from her universe would be if they crossed into another one. The Pharaoh sighed and shook his head, glancing up at the sky in the hopes that something would show up that he could use. He was disappointed when nothing came, returning his gaze to the two humans. "It's a parallel dimension."

"What?"

"It's the only explanation for the TARDIS shutting down and the zeppelins."

"And my grandfather."

"And your-" The Pharaoh cut himself off, staring at the poster that Yugi had found hung up on the bus shelter closest to them. The poster was brightly colored, showing a scattering of games on it along with a smiling old man in overalls and a yellow shirt, a black bandana tied around his head. There was no other person it could be, not with that wild mess of grey hair. They had stumbled upon a parallel world where Sugoroku Mutou was still alive.

He reached out to grab Yugi as the human went to rush away, holding him close as Yugi struggled. "Listen to me; we don't know what happened in this world. He may not even be your grandfather."

Yugi slumped at that, the Pharaoh hating that he had momentarily brought tears to Yugi's eyes. He changed his hold to a hug instead of something restrictive, glancing at the poster before looking back at the TARDIS. "We need to see what has happened to the TARDIS before we do anything, but just remember Yugi, the rules of your old world don't apply here."

His companion nodded slowly, the Pharaoh letting him go. Yugi shuffled over to a nearby bench and flopped down, the human wrapping his arms around himself. The Pharaoh sighed and turned to look at Joey, the blonde glancing up at him before jerking his head in one direction. "I'll go scout out the area."

"You'll stay here and help me with the TARDIS."

"You have Yugi for that, Pharaoh." Joey shrugged and looked around, staring up at the zeppelins for a while. "Besides, I feel an opportunity calling. I'll see you later."

"You don't even know how much time we have here!"

"I'll check back tomorrow afternoon." Joey shrugged. "Besides, you can always hop and get me if you run into trouble."

The blonde was running off before the Pharaoh could stop him, the Time Lord throwing his hands up in the air in disgust before walking over to the bench and flopping down next to Yugi. His companion just looked at him, Yugi fiddling with his cell phone to have something to do while he sat there. The human gave him a quick glance before returning to his phone. "So, plan?"

"Find out what's wrong with the TARDIS and-" They both looked down as the screen on Yugi's phone suddenly lit up. A stylized 'C' was shown on the screen before it faded away, showing a man who was sitting behind a desk.

"Welcome to the Cybus Industries' satellite service. With this service you will be able to access the internet from any place and get a better sound quality on your phone. As you are currently using a hand held model, we suggest that you switch to the EarBud version, proven to be safer than the older cell phones. Thank you. We now return you to your news broadcast." There was a pause, the screen shifting to the typical newsroom, the reporter smiling at them before he began to read of the teleprompter. "Domino is shocked and honored today to have Noa Kaiba return to the city of his birth. Reports say that while there is no improvement to the genius' health there have been no set backs either. In other news, Torchwood-"

Yugi snapped the phone shut, looking at the Pharaoh with one eyebrow raised. The Time Lord hummed to himself, taking the phone and turning it over in his hands. "The Earth seems to have tried to make everything compatible. But it might help us."

The human fumbled to catch the phone as the Pharaoh stood up, the Time Lord waiting for his companion to join him. Yugi stood up, surprised when they walked into the TARDIS. The Pharaoh's good mood quickly disappeared in the darkened console room. He had thought that he would be able to fix his time machine now that he was calmer, but the fact was that she was dead, lacking the energy to get them out of here. He bit his lip, glancing up and around before leaning against the console. There had to be something that he could do to get them out of here, they didn't belong in this world.

"Light."

"What?"

"There's a light." Yugi pointed at a faint bit of light under the console. The Pharaoh frowned and dropped to the ground, smiling as he realized that it wasn't just a trick. If there was light, then there could still be power. He scrambled backwards, tugging at the section of grating and throwing it to the side before sliding it, digging through the wires and tubing to get to the little bit of light. Above, he could hear Yugi walking around to help him, the Pharaoh passing up bits and pieces that he had to move out of the way, finally reaching for the small teal crystal that a piece of coral had grown around. He smiled at the little thing before moving back towards Yugi, leaning against the opening in the grate.

"Here's our way home."

"Really?"

"Yes. A quick recharge and then we're back. Twenty-four hours at the most." The Pharaoh saw Yugi's fleeting expression of sadness, reminding himself not to chastise his companion. Yugi had tried to save Sugoroku's life once before and had failed, this place was offering him a chance to get to know his grandfather, but Sugoroku wouldn't be the same, this was a completely different universe. He gave Yugi a smile before rolling the crystal around in his hands. "Yugi…"

"I know. But I just want to see him."

The Pharaoh stared at his companion before looking back at the crystal. "Alright, we'll go and see him, but you can't tell him anything about who you are. We have twenty-four hours and that should be enough time."

The smile on Yugi's face told him that he had made the right decision. All that was left was to find Joey and tell him about their plan. The Pharaoh shrugged; sure that Yugi could just call his friend before cupping the crystal in his hands. It needed something from their universe to start the recharge process, specifically from Gallifrey. The Pharaoh tipped his head to the side, a faint smile on his face before he gently blew on the crystal, feeling a tug on his hearts as it started to glow.

"W-what did you do?" Yugi reached out to brush his fingers over the crystal, smiling at the Pharaoh.

"I had to recharge it. Gave up about ten years of my life, nothing big." He gave the crystal to Yugi, ignoring the human's look of shock as he hauled himself out of the hole, placing all the stuff he had thrown out back in before shutting the grate over it. Sure that it was secure, he pulled on his long back coat before taking the crystal from Yugi, pocketing it. He held out his hand for his companion to take, leading Yugi out of the TARDIS before turning to look at Domino.

Part of him didn't want to leave the TARDIS, not when she was almost completely dead. He wanted to be there with her until she was ready to run again, but he also owed Yugi the chance to at least see his grandfather from a distance; the Pharaoh wasn't too keen on being eaten by a Reaper as it attempted to fix time again, once had been enough for him.

"Come on, we're going to head to the park."

"The park? I thought that we were looking for your grandfather?"

"I don't want to just barge in." Yugi shifted nervously, his hand reaching into the pocket of his jacket for his phone. "I want to figure out what his life is here so I don't make the same mistake again."

"Alright, park it is. Besides, it should be beautiful this time of year." The Pharaoh smiled and squeezed Yugi's hand, his companion moving closer to him, nearly resting his head on the Time Lord's shoulder. The Pharaoh tensed for a moment, staring straight ahead, reminding himself that he was just reading too much into these things.


	18. Doubled

** Chapter Seventeen: Doubled **

_"We? We are the Preachers. As in gospel truth. See? No ear-pods. While the rest of the world downloads from Cybus Industries, we… we have got freedom. You're talking to London's most wanted. But target number one is Lumic and we are going to bring him down."  
-Ricky Smith_

Joey quickly walked down the streets, having long since memorized the directions. He had come down this way more often than he had come home before Yugi had disappeared; it was the one other place that he really felt safe. He swallowed nervously at the thought; she might not even be there anymore. This was a parallel universe, but that didn't mean that she was alive. His heart pounded faster, Joey shaking his head. No, there was no way that she could have died before now; someone would have taken care of her. She would be fine and he would be able to see her again. Joey relaxed a bit at the thought. He would see her and be sure that she didn't hate him for everything.

He paused at a sigh posted on the corner of the street. He had seen them as he was coming down this way, but he hadn't paid attention, too concerned with actually getting to her house. Now, it seemed important. Joey looked around before settling back, trying to look casual as he stared at the sign.

Strict Curfew Enforced.  
All citizens off the streets by twelve midnight by order of the mayor.  
Any citizens remaining on the streets will be punished for disobeying this law.  
For your own safety we ask that you remain inside during the zeppelin refueling time.

Joey tipped his head in confusion. While the order was something that he would expect from a military state, something that Domino wasn't at this point, it did sound reasonable. There was bound to be an explosion of some sort with fuel. It made sense to him, although it did make him uneasy. How close did the zeppelins pass to her house? Was she safe? He shivered, pulling his jacket closer to him before walking quickly off, passing the rows of small houses.

They were all brick, different from what he remembered. The last time he had been here, they had all been apartments instead of small houses. It was just one thing that reminded him that this wasn't his Domino City. But if it had her, it was close enough for him. She was the one thing that he regretted not standing up for. Joey took a deep breath, almost passing her house in his concentration. He blushed and backtracked, staring at the small house before gathering the courage to knock.

He jumped at the sound of his knocks, looking around as he suddenly realized how suspicious he could look. He had tried to see her once since Yugi had disappeared, and he had felt suspicious then too. But this wasn't his Domino, so he wasn't banned from seeing her. Joey agonized over the thoughts, almost missing the door open. He glanced up, a smile crossing his face as he realized that it didn't matter. "Serenity!"

The red headed girl just smiled, pulling him into a hug with a laugh. "Oh, I though I wouldn't see you for at least another month! You said you had something important to do."

"Nothing is more important than you, little sister."

He laughed as she waved him off, pretending to hit him over the head. "Hey, I'm nearly as tall as you and old enough to take care of myself, I'm not little anymore."

"You'll always be little to me."

"Katsuya!" Joey paused at the strange name, about to ask Serenity about it when she stepped away from the door. "You want to come in? I know it's not much but it's all I can afford, especially on a teacher's salary."

"Teacher? But I thought you wanted to be a nurse."

Serenity gave him a sad glance, her gaze dropping to the floor as she played with the hem of her t-shirt. "Yeah, I did. But then you had to go off and do something important and couldn't help me with the tuition anymore so I settled for something different. But I love what I do, I really do."

"If you love it…then I guess…" Joey rubbed the back of his neck, looking at Serenity. He knew that she was looking for his approval; after their mom and dad had split up, she had worked to keep the family happy if they couldn't be together, she was always trying to please. It was why he had encouraged her to do what she wanted; he didn't want her to lose herself to the wishes of others. But if she was really happy with her job, he couldn't begrudge her that. Joey offered her a smile before spreading his arms. "My sister, the teacher."

Serenity gave him a hug. "Maybe I can beat a few things into that skull of yours."

"Nah, can't teach an old dog new tricks."

"I doubt that." Serenity shook her head before gesturing him inside. "So, where have you been?"

Joey was about to begin an elaborate lie when a blue van sped down the street towards them. He turned, pushing Serenity behind him as the van careened closer. He was about to shove her into the house, preparing himself for a fight when the backdoors opened, a man jumping out and grabbing him. "Hey!"

Joey struggled in the man's hold, trying to free his arms so he could get a good swing instead of twisting around in the man's hold. He looked up, trying to motion Serenity away as he was dragged toward the van, his sister ignoring his frantic motions. "Honda! Honda what are you doing to him? Let him go!"

"It's for your own good, Serenity! We can't contact you, it's too dangerous."

"I don't care!" Joey grunted as he was thrown into the back of the van, scrambling to his feet to try and get to the back doors. Honda beat him to it, standing in the way as he pulled the doors shut, continuing to ignore Serenity as she tried to follow them. "I want my brother and boyfriend back!"

The doors slammed shut, Honda locking them as Joey went to throw himself at them, the brunette grabbing Joey before turning to look towards the front of the van. "Drive!"

The vehicle lurched into motion, Joey thrown off his feet and sent into one of the sides of the van. He winced as he head slammed back against the metal, leaning forward a bit to rub the back of his head, sure that there would be a bump there. He winced as his fingers trialed over the injury, pulling them away to find them clean, so he wasn't bleeding. Joey nodded to himself before turning to glare at Honda. "What was that for?"

"You said yourself that we couldn't contact our families! It would be too dangerous considering what we are doing!" Honda leveled a glare at him before sitting down on one of the benches in the back. "Why would you want to put Serenity in danger?"

"You think I would? I haven't seen her in ages and-"

"Well neither have I! And we were engaged to be married, but I had to call it off thanks to you. She understands but you know what it means to her!" Joey didn't bother to answer, preferring to try and glare holes in this man. He had never met Honda before, he didn't even know what the man did, he had never even heard about Serenity dating anyone. But then there was a chance that she did in this parallel world, and Joey didn't like her choice in potential husband.

He rolled his eyes, deciding that further argument wouldn't get them anywhere, especially in the confines of the van. They could continue this elsewhere, maybe after Joey figured out what was going on. Much to his annoyance, Honda and the driver held all of the answers that he needed; it would be better to play along and wait them out. He gritted his teeth before sitting back, looking away from Honda and hoping that the other man would have the good sense to stop the fight before it began. To his relief, Honda remained silent. The driver, however, laughed at the two of them. "Look at you two, the best of friends until Serenity comes around. Get over yourself Katsuya."

There was that strange name again; Joey about to correct the driver when he realized that he recognized the voice. His eyes widened, Joey turning in his seat to see Mai smiling at him through the rearview mirror. She was exactly as he remembered, wavy blonde hair, purple eyes and the best laugh that he had heard in his life. No wonder he had never been able to get over her after she had dumped him, she was the perfect woman for him. Joey gave her a smile, the expression earning a laugh from her again. "You look like you haven't seen me in years, Katsuya. What did you do wrong this time?"

"Wrong?"

"You never look at me like that unless something has gone wrong." She flipped a strand of hair back behind her ear, turning her gaze back to the road. "It'll have to wait though, I've got news on Kaiba."

"Noa is back?" Honda nearly leapt over Joey to move closer, Mai nodding as she continued to drive.

"Yep, back to luring homeless from their places with empty promises. I've got more going missing; the trucks are probably still out there." Honda gave a curse, Joey looking between the two before reaching into his pocket for his cell phone. This was something that the Pharaoh was better at. He would just call the Pharaoh and Yugi over and they could figure out what was going on over here. Joey smiled at the thought, his thumb sliding over the buttons when Mai made a sharp turn, Joey sliding into the wall. She glanced up at him again. "Sorry, honey, time is of the essence."

"I would like to get wherever we are going in one piece." Mai just laughed, steering the van through some back roads before slowing as they approached a decrepit building. Joey leaned forward, staring through the windshield at the place; sure that he had never seen it in his life. His hand reached for his cell phone again, Joey yelping as his arm was nearly pulled out of his socket as Honda grabbed him.

"Is that a light?"

"What?" Joey focused on the building again, seeing a light flickering in one of the windows. He turned his head to the side before nodding slowly. "Looks like one to me."

Honda cursed, yanking open the back doors even as Mai brought the van to a stop. "We've got intruders. Standard pattern. Jou, guard our backs."

Joey nodded, watching as Mai and Honda pulled handguns from the front seat before inching towards the door of the place. He turned nervously, not keen on picking up a gun and charging in with them. He glanced toward the van again before sneaking in with Mai and Honda, tensing as they kicked open the doors to the building.

The inside of the building was lit but a fire in the fireplace, Joey looking around at the sparse furniture and the crude set up, everything looking like it was going to fall apart at any minute. He supposed that it was purposeful; just in case the hide out was discovered. Joey shrugged, catching the scent of food as they walked further into the room, running into Honda's back as the brunette came to a quick stop. Joey stumbled back. "A little warning next time."

"What are you doing here Jou?"

"What am I doing here?" A voice that sounded scarily like his own came from somewhere in front of him, Joey nearly pushing Honda aside to get a look. He stopped in his tracks as he found himself staring at a man that could be his twin. Joey took a step back as the man looked at him, a finger pointing at him. "What am I doing there?"

Joey stared at the double for a moment more before deciding that running was the better option. Mai and Honda were probably on his double's side and he had no back up. He suddenly regretted leaving Yugi and the Pharaoh behind while he went to seek out Serenity. Joey just smiled before turning to run, gasping for breath as Honda grabbed him. The blonde struggled in the hold, feeling another set of hands on his shoulders before he was pushed back into a chair, kicking out at the people nearest to him as he tried to escape. He had promised the Pharaoh that he would check up on the TARDIS and them, he had promised that he would keep contact; he couldn't do either if he was a prisoner.

Something hit him on the back of the head, Joey going still as the person who had hit him circled around, finding himself staring at his double. The double tipped his head to the side before motioning at Mai. "Get the equipment; we need to scan to see if this guy is bugged."

"Bugged? You honestly think I'm a spy."

Jou leaned against one of the other chairs in the room. "Why else would they go to the trouble of making you look exactly like me? What better way is there to throw off the rest of my team and capture Domino's most wanted? Now, who sent you?"

"No one sent me!" Joey struggled, wincing as Honda slammed him back into the chair again. "I just went to see my sister when this idiot snatched me up, thinking I was you."

"Serenity is my sister!" Jou stormed over to him, nearly flipping the chair that Joey was being held in over as he glared down at him. "And no one messes with her, ever. Are we clear?"

"You don't need to remind me of about what I already know." Joey jerked to one side, his shirt slipping through Jou's hand. "Now, let me go."

"I can't. You know where we're hiding and I can't have that news going out. Then everyone will be after us. We can't be caught, we're doing something important." Joey rolled his eyes, wincing as Jou tugged him upright again. "We have proof, messages."

"Of what?"

"Like I'd tell you."

Joey glared at his double as Jou walked away, turning to see Mai walking over with a computer and a flat metal device. The latter she tossed to Honda, setting up the computer before nodding. Joey glanced around before deciding to cooperate for the moment. He would get his chance to escape soon enough, and when that happened, he would bring Yugi and the Pharaoh around here to see what these guys were up to. He tensed as Honda swept the device over him, the brunette looking at Mai when he was finished.

Silence fell over the room as Mai studied the screen of the computer, the woman shrugging before shutting the laptop. "Other than a cell phone, he's got nothing on him."

"A cell phone?"

"Nothing emitting waves that they could use to track him." Mai stepped around the counter and placed a hand on her hip. "He's clean, Jou."

"Can't be."

"All the tech says-"

"Then the tech is wrong!" Jou glared at her before shooing her away with a hand motion. Mai just stared at him and shook her head. Jou seemed to ignore her, standing up straight and pacing back and forth. "There is no way that a man who looks exactly like me could show up where Serenity lives and be only a coincidence. He has to work for Kaiba."

"Who?" The three turned to look at him, all of them looking dumbstruck.

"Noa Kaiba? Owner of Kaiba Corporation? How can you not know who he is?"

Joey blinked and looked away. So the Kaiba Corp here actually had a Kaiba running it, the one in his Domino was just run by the board. Both Gozaburo and his son, Noa had died in a horrible car accident. Joey resisted the urge to drum his fingers against the arm rests, finally deciding to shrug and play stupid. "I'm not from here."

"Not from here my-"

"Jou!" Mai glared at him before turning her attention to Joey with a long sigh. "Do you know who we are?"

"No. And I don't expect you to tell me with the security you have going on here. Just let me go and you'll never here from me again." He winked at Mai, enjoying the faint blush that it caused. "Your secret is safe with me."

"You can't just expect us to let you go!"

"Shut up, Jou." Mai glared at him before moving to lean on the chair that Joey was still sitting in. "We could use an extra set of hands. Besides, this one looks more decent that you ever will, we could use him as a spy. What do you say, Honda?"

"Well…"

Jou shook his head. "I won't agree to anything!"

"Why not? You yourself just said that it would be nice to have an extra pair of hands around and here they are!"

"Mai," Jou grabbed Mai's wrists, forcing the woman to back up. Joey stood up from his chair, surprised when Honda held out an arm and shook his head. He glanced at the brunette before looking over at where Mai was struggling against Jou. "You listen. You are not the leader of the group and you do not know best. We don't need him around."

Joey tried to push forward as Mai flinched, the woman recovering in the next moment to shove Jou away. "What's the matter with you?"

"I'm only worried about our safety."

"Our safety? We are nothing but a-"

"Guys." Honda interrupted them, pointing to something flashing on the counter. Joey turned to look at it, surprised when Mai shoved Jou out of the way to retrieve the small mobile phone, staring at the screen. Honda stepped away from Joey, walking over to Mai to stare at the screen. "Another message from Gemini."

Joey stayed out of their way as they poured over the message, the three of them muttering to themselves. He noticed that Mai kept giving him sideways glances, not sure whether to interpret them as interest or if she was just considering his usefulness; Joey wasn't sure which one he would prefer. Of course, he would be overjoyed that Mai was showing interest in him as he had yet to get over her, but if he was useful then there was a better chance of him getting out of this situation alive. He took a cautious step back, watching as the three turned to look at them, Jou sighing. "Fine, we'll need him for this one. He couldn't get himself hurt on a simple reconnaissance mission. Then we'll figure out what to do with him."

He noticed that Mai was smiling, barely having time to think about what that meant when the blonde woman grabbed his arm and began towing him towards the van while Honda and Jou stayed behind to gather the supplies. "So, ever heard of Junri Mutou?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's her birthday tonight and all the zeppelin owners will be coming down to earth to celebrate. That gives us the perfect chance to look in on them." Joey nodded, forcing himself to keep the smile on his face. So Yugi's mother was alive here as well as his grandfather. Joey got the feeling that he would be seeing Yugi there tonight, which would fix his problem of having to go and find them again. Besides, the Pharaoh could sneak him away from this group if he needed to.

He slipped into the passenger seat in the car, shrugging when Jou gave him a glare and slumped towards the back of the van. Joey jumped when Mai reached over to pat his hand. "Don't you worry, honey, Jou is all bark and no bite. Besides, you're safe with me."

"I don't doubt that." Joey laughed, surprised to hear Mai laughing along with him. It had been a long time since he had heard that sound.

"Oh, you're a charmer and I don't even know your name. We'll have to settle that later."

"Just remember who you belong to."

Mai turned around to glare at Jou, Joey peeking over his shoulder and noticing that Honda was cowering somewhat in the back. "I don't belong to anybody. You got that?"

Before Jou could answer, Mai huffed and put the van into reverse, looking over her shoulder as she backed the blue van out of the space it was in and onto the road. Joey kept his gaze on her, watching as she easily got them out of the suburban neighborhood and started for the city, remaining silent as the others began to talk. It had always been like this around Mai, he was too tongue tied to talk, or at least to talk coherently, so it had become his habit to remain silent. His Mai had always liked that about him, she had said that it made her feel special. Joey looked away at the thought of his old girlfriend, hoping that the familiar sights of Domino would help sort out his thoughts.

* * *

Daniel glanced up towards where the car was parked, noticing that Solomon had already made it back. He sighed, kneeling on the grass before putting a bunch of flowers in front of the head stone, carefully arranging the purple flowers so that they would stay in place. Solomon had always said that his son's eyes would be purple; it was one of the Mutou family traits. Daniel smiled at the memory, resting one hand against the headstone before standing up slowly. He carefully walked around the small plot of land, even though there was no body in the ground, he had come too late for that. All that he had of his son was the headstone that simply read:

HERE LIES YUGI MUTOU

He sighed and trudged back to the car, not looking forward to meeting his wife for the final preparations for her party. Knowing Junri, it was going to be a nightmare, people rushing around trying to get the house set up as Junri made last minute adjustments, all to impress and group of people that hadn't looked at them twice before. Junri seemed to be made for entertaining the moneyed class, Daniel wasn't; he preferred the quiet mornings in the small shop to the bustle of endless meetings that waited for him. But, if it kept Junri happy, he would do it for her. Anything to keep her happy.

"Got your head in the clouds again?" Daniel glanced at Solomon before nodding slowly.

"Yeah, dreading the mess when I get…well, when I get to Junri's house." He slumped as he said that, walking around to the other side of the car and slipping into the driver's seat. "Most of it isn't even ours anymore."

"I can only apologize for your loss, my boy." Solomon shrugged, looking out the window. "And I thought that I would be chasing you after you left her pregnant."

His hand hesitated over the keys, Daniel glancing over at Solomon before turning them. "I came back."

"I thought you would, you were a good boy." The elderly man gave a partial smile before turning back to his contemplation of the world outside of his window. He sighed as Daniel pulled away from the cemetery, the man heading for the mansions that sat on the outskirts of the city. "I just never thought that she would get rid of the baby."

His hands tightened on the steering wheel at that reminder, Daniel forcing himself to relax. It had been twenty years since then, he had to be over it by now. But it still hurt, something that surprised him seeing as he hadn't been too enthusiastic about having a child in the first place. He sighed, turning the car into the driveway, staring up at the large house that Junri had insisted that they buy after they had struck their deal with Kaiba Corporation. She still lived there with the divorce going through, and he had moved into the rooms above the original Kame Game Shop, preferring it there more than the empty halls.

The wheels of the car crunched on the driveway, Daniel pulling up to the front of the house before getting out, watching as Solomon bustled into the house in front of him. He loitered a bit outside the mansion, watching the staff that was rushing around to get a measure of Junri's mood. From the frantic looks and the messy uniforms, it was safe to think that she was in a bad mood, Daniel wincing before walking into the house, slipping the keys to the car into his pocket. He had to keep reminding himself that he would get to go home after all of this insanity, that he was only here temporarily.

"Daniel!" He flinched at the familiar shout, hurrying through the entry hallway until he was standing at the bottom of the stairs. He tried to smile as he saw his wife, failing miserably as she glared at him before pointing towards a banner that hung over one of the doors. "What's that?"

He glanced at the banner, shrugging when he read it over. "It looks fine, dear."

"No." Junri rushed down the stairs and steered him towards the banner, forcing him to look up at it some more. "Don't you see it? Of course you don't. It says I'm forty."

"But, you are." Daniel looked around, hoping that he could spot Solomon. The elderly man knew how to handle his daughter when she got like this; Daniel was still at a loss. His method was to just hide himself away until Junri got over her rampage.

"No I'm not. I'm thirty-eight." Junri turned to look at him, frowning when Daniel just looked blankly back at her. "Of course a man wouldn't understand that. You don't care how old you are. But I, I have to look young and pretty so you have something to show off around those company parties."

Daniel tuned out the rest of her rant, used to the many verities that she composed on this same theme. The truth was, he didn't care what she looked like or if they even went to those parties. He nodded as she paused for breath, noticing that she seemed pleased with the move. If something else could attract her attention, then he could sneak away again and do his part in the preparations. But it would be best to keep out of the way of the staff; they had enough to deal with today.

He snuck away when Junri turned to yell at one of the maids over the flower arrangements, sneaking into the kitchen before slumping against the wall. The staff ignored him for the most part, bustling around to take care of the last minute things. He watched them for a while before pushing away from the wall, walking out of the kitchen and into the dining room, glancing around for Junri before proceeding into the parlor, walking over to look out of the huge windows on the wall.

"I see you made your escape." Daniel tensed at the voice, turning around to look at Solomon. The elderly man had settled himself in a chair with a book, careful to keep out of the way of the servants as they rushed madly around. Daniel just shrugged and went to sit by Solomon, the old man chuckling quietly to himself. "I don't blame you. It's better just to let her do it all and then smile and nod when the guests come."

"Do you know any of the guests?"

"Aside from the mayor and his wife, no. But just pretend. The nicer we are, the sooner we get to go home." Solomon glanced up at him. "And remember not to drink too much, you're my designated driver. I don't want to spend the night here."

"Yes sir." Daniel smiled and settled back into the chair again, his eyes starting to fall shut. If this had been any other party, he would have skipped it, he was exhausted from work and meeting with Noa. But he had to at least stay until he could use Solomon as an excuse to leave, Junri was still his wife. He smothered a groan and ran a hand through his messy black hair. Two weeks and counting before he was free, not that he really wanted to be, but it would make Junri happy and he wouldn't have to hang around and witness all of her bad moods, the ones that were coming more often. He sighed, slumping in his seat and opening his eyes to watch the bustle. He would just count the hours until he could go home.

* * *

Noa sat back in his wheelchair, his fingers drumming on the table as he reviewed the reports on the screen of his laptop. His eyes widened, the young man leaning forward with a smile, one hand reaching for the intercom button. There was a faint buzz before Crump's familiar voice came over the speakers. "Master Noa?"

"Get the machines ready to go into full swing. I've read over the reports and I can find nothing wrong, except for a want of subjects. Make sure they're all working and get them producing more suits, we'll need them by the end of the night."

"Yes, sir." The intercom shut off, Noa smiling before exiting out of the series of reports, staring at the screen of his laptop before inputting a password, watching as a vocal recognition screen came up. "User, Noa Kaiba. Destination, EarBud 224, Mutou household. Target, Junri Mutou."

There was a pause as the machinery worked, Noa leaning back and folding his hands on his stomach. Of all the hurdles that he had faced, this one was the easiest. He just had to wait for the connection to go through before he could access the information that Junri had in her mind, taking the security plans for their mansion and all available entrances. He leaned forward as there was a quiet beep, beginning to sift through the information that he was given, carefully picking out a blueprint of the house and a guest list before cutting off the connection to Junri. He couldn't risk hurting the woman, especially since he would have need of her later. Also, annoyingly enough, Junri only acted empty headed; she could be very perceptive when she needed to be and discovery was something that he wanted to avoid.

He stared at the blueprint of the house, already mentally arranging his divisions and sending them in. It would have to wait until darkness fell, they would be less recognizable then. Besides, he was hoping that most of the guests would be tipsy by then.

And what a guest list this party boasted. Noa smiled as he looked over the names. All of the people that he had to impress were here and they would be impressed with his newest technological leap, he would be sure of that. They would have to impressed, or they would join the technological revolution that he planned. Although, Noa frowned, he had met most of these people in his short life and realized now that most of them were idiots grasping for power. He would make sure that they weren't allowed to live; he wouldn't have any bad stock for his new world.

It was for the betterment of all people if this happened. While it would lose him the military portion of Kaiba Corporation, it was a part that he had never liked. Then, there would be no more killing, no more war. He would have brought piece to his planet. But, most importantly, he had found a way for people to live. All those kids in the hospitals he had visited would have a chance to live on instead of slowly wasting away. It was for them that he was doing this, pushing for this advancement. Of course, his own fear of dying and being forgotten played a huge part.

Noa reached for the intercom again, shaking his head and pulling his hand back. He was feeling well enough to wheel himself down to the technology department in the warehouse. He had always hated being pushed around by a person, it made him feel weaker than he really was. It was only now, as he was nearing his twenties, that he was reaching the twilight of his life. But he had already lived five years longer than any of the doctors thought. He put that down to determination, it was a Kaiba family trait. He smiled to himself as he reached for the wheels of his chair, backing it away from the table and heading towards the science department.

* * *

The Pharaoh had his arm close to being draped over his shoulders, Yugi knew it was there. The Time Lord had casually flung it over the back of the park bench when they had settled down, allowing Yugi to surf the web to get answers on his family here. But that alone wasn't enough to distract him from the fact that the Time Lord's arm was so close to him. It would be so easy just to reach up and drag it down so it rested on his shoulders instead of above them. The Pharaoh wouldn't mind, or Yugi hoped that he wouldn't. Besides, the Time Lord had already done it once back on the TARDIS and they had fallen into the habit of seeking each other out to fall asleep, even if the Pharaoh usually disappeared before morning.

Yugi bit his lip and looked up from his phone, glancing around the park at the other couples who were walking around hand-in-hand. He blushed and looked down at the screen again, watching the page come up. The Pharaoh took his hand more often now, gave him hugs more often and Yugi loved the attention. It was very different from the way his old Pharaoh had acted, but it made him feel better, made him feel loved. He blinked rapidly at that, feeling his blush deepen before he shook his head, pretending to type some more on his phone to hide his thoughts.

He knew that he was in love with the old Pharaoh, all of his quirks and those blue eyes. But he was in love with this version of the Pharaoh as well. And he had learned enough to see past all the things that made the two versions different to see where they were the same. Yugi rubbed his forehead, feeling the faintest hint of a headache. He must be the only person in the universe to have to deal with this confusion. And yet, it never felt like he was cheating on his old Pharaoh by falling in love with this new one. It just felt…right.

Yugi groaned, ignoring the Pharaoh as he glanced back at his phone, smiling when he noticed that the results of his search was displayed. He smiled and settled back, noticing that the Pharaoh's arm shifted to rest just even closer to his shoulders, not quite touching. Yugi decided not to comment on that, not wanting to scare the Pharaoh away. He would find some way of admitting this confusing mess of feelings to the Pharaoh, hopefully soon. He had enough headaches to deal with. "Found them."

"Really?"

"Do you doubt my skill?" Yugi turned to look at the Time Lord, realizing that the Pharaoh was much closer than he anticipated. Yugi cleared his throat, forcing himself to look away from the alien's crimson eyes before focusing on the phone again. "Anyway, it appears that the Kame Game Shop is an international company that is loosely associated with Kaiba Corporation, which is why they got so big. Its run by Solomon Mutou, I think that's my grandfather, and still operates out of the original shop. The heir to the entire fortune is my mother, Junri Mutou and her husband, Daniel Greene."

Yugi paused at that, resting his fingers over the picture of the smiling bride and groom on their wedding day. He stared at the black haired man, the corner of his mouth twitching as he tried to figure out what he was feeling. It was different, realizing that he had a father here, especially after listening to all of his mother's stories about how his real father had run away with out a backwards glance. But this man had stayed and Yugi didn't know what to do about that.

Pushing away his indecision, Yugi cleared his throat and forced himself onward. "As of now, they have no children. But the good news is that it's Mom's birthday today, and there's bound to be a party. They have the address to the mansion; maybe we can swing by and see."

The Pharaoh sighed, Yugi watching as the Time Lord pulled the crystal out of his pocket, watching the light inside of it fade in and out as it charged. He settled back, fiddling with his phone again as he let the Time Lord think. Finally, the alien pocketed the crystal again at looked at Yugi. "They're not your family, Yugi."

"But-"

"There is no Yugi Mutou in this world, there's only them." The Pharaoh ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know if you can even talk to them…"

"I won't tell them who I am!"

"Yugi, you don't need to tell them." Yugi reached a hand up to cover his hair, knowing that the Pharaoh was right. He had the famed Mutou hair, the spikes and the odd coloration all natural. He sighed and stared at his hands.

"I just need to see my grandfather alive and happy for one, Pharaoh. I can watch."

"You said that before."

"This is different, Pharaoh. There's no car, no man-eating bug things and no danger. As you said, I don't exist here."

"But you can still change time."

"What would watching do?"

"Could you watch? Really?" Yugi stared at the Pharaoh before nodding slowly, forcing himself not to look too disappointed. The Pharaoh had said it himself; this wasn't his family so he shouldn't expect them to welcome him with open arms. Besides, he wasn't the most trustworthy companion, not after the incident with his grandfather before, but he had learned from that. If watching his grandfather die twice wasn't enough, watching the Pharaoh get eaten was. The Pharaoh huffed and looked away, Yugi patiently waiting him out until the Pharaoh gave a slow nod. "We'll have to find Joey."

"He's probably at his sister's." Yugi shivered as the Pharaoh stood up, the Time Lord's fingers brushing across the back of his neck, Yugi sure the move was purely accidental. He stood up as well, spotting the Pharaoh in mid stretch and keeping his eyes on the Time Lord's face.

"He has a sister."

"Yeah. They have been close since their parents divorced. In our Domino, he was helping her get through Med school…until you brought me back late." Yugi was sure that he heard a mumbled apology, shaking his head and looking up at the sky. "Their mom took Serenity away from him because of that, not wanting her to be implicated in case Joey had really killed me. It's the same reason that Mai broke up with him. But I don't think he blames you, at least, not now anyway."

He didn't expect a response and didn't get one; the Pharaoh wouldn't apologize for something like that, something that he couldn't change. Yugi knew that Joey had gotten over most of his disappointment, and was tagging along with them to forget about the rest of it. When Joey stepped off the TARDIS, he would be ready for life again, something Yugi almost envied about Joey. The blonde could leave this life and return to the other one, completely fine. Yugi knew he would miss this life and that he would never be able to do that, at least of his own free will. And, if the Pharaoh was willing to have him forever, he was willing to stay for that long.


	19. Party Crashers

** Chapter Eighteen: Party Crashers **

_"We're all flesh and blood, but the brain is what makes us human. And my mind is more creative than ever."  
-John Lumic_

His phone vibrated in his pocket, Yugi frowning and going to dig it out, only then realizing that he had been reaching out to hold the Pharaoh's hand, not even aware that he had been doing it. Yugi froze for a moment, shaking his head. He was about to look at his phone when the strange beeping noise sounded, Yugi turning in place and watching all of the other people around them stop at the same time. He blinked, absently opening his phone as he looked around. "Pharaoh?"

The Time Lord was already working, weaving his way through the people. Yugi glanced down at his phone, hearing a faint voice coming from the speakers, watching what the man was reporting flashing on the screen. He looked back up again, his gaze drawn to the devices that were in the peoples' ears, watching a light on the side flash on and off. Yugi was reminded of the Blue Tooth systems of his world, wondering if it was the same idea. But he had the sneaking suspicion that they were getting everything that was coming through on his phone. "They're getting the same thing I am, right?"

"Downloaded right into their brains." The Pharaoh stopped beside him, the people suddenly released from their spell and walking on. Yugi watched them go, shaking his head before tugging at the Pharaoh's arm, ready to move off in the direction of the manor. The Time Lord remained still, staring off into the distance as he thought. The Pharaoh remained like that for a moment before shaking his head, snapping out of his thoughts. "We have to look into this."

"See. I told you we should go to the Mutou's place. Guest list of stars."

"Cheeky little human." Yugi just smiled, grabbing the Pharaoh's hand and pulling him along. From his own mental map of Domino, he figured that the Mutou's house was on the outskirts of town, opposite from the more residential area, about where the abandoned Kaiba mansion was in his Domino. He guessed that one of the Kaibas still lived, since Kaiba Corporation was still running efficiently. He set a fast pace, surprised that the Pharaoh easily kept up with him, the two of them weaving through the crowds of people rushing around.

What did cause him to slow was the realization that most of the signs were in English, a scattering of Japanese here and there, but mostly English. Even the names he heard shouted out were in English. Yugi tipped his head to the side before looking at the Pharaoh, the Time Lord shrugging. "Parallel universe, anything could have happened. England might have managed to capture Japan instead of places in China or India. Or the United States may have done more than intimidate them with Perry."

"So…we're a colony?"

"Maybe. Japan could be independent by now, but not inclined to go back to their own customs." The Pharaoh shrugged. "Things like this happen."

"I assume that you've been to parallel worlds."

"A couple in my time, yes." The Pharaoh reached up a hand to rub at his neck. "And my friends always seem to want to kill me in them. It might be a blessing in disguise that there is no alternate Yugi here."

Yugi elbowed the Pharaoh in the side, laughing as the Time Lord stumbled to the side. The Pharaoh caught up with him again, Yugi looking eagerly around at this new version of Domino, aware of how much he looked like a tourist. He sighed and leaned against the Pharaoh, his eyes widening before he pushed away, those couples in the park coming back into his mind. He didn't want to send that impression, especially here. "So, you've been to parallel worlds before?"

"It was easier when the Time Lords were still around, but yes." The Pharaoh glanced down at him. "Parallel worlds have always been complicated, but it's too hard for one Time Lord to keep them from bleeding into each other. Besides, there's always the Void, it's too dangerous for one Time Lord to cross alone."

"Void?"

"The blank space between the worlds." The Pharaoh shivered, Yugi squeezing his hand for reassurance. "It might as well be Hell."

"Oh." Yugi searched for a topic to switch to, suddenly feeling colder. He gave the Pharaoh a smile, swinging their joined hands for a moment. "Well, do we have a plan for getting into the party?"

"Physic paper."

"That's no fun! I was hoping for some big scheme."

The Pharaoh glanced over at him, rolling his eyes. "Yugi, I'm not one for planning-"

"I've noticed."

"I'm not one for planning because things tend to go wrong, often."

"You tend to land us in dangerous places."

"And you tend to wander off." The Pharaoh smirked. "And what have I told you about wandering off."

"Nothing yet, actually." Yugi smiled at the Pharaoh stared at him, speechless. He fought back a laugh, looking ahead. He was sure that, if the Pharaoh wasn't worried about his dignity, he would have been sputtering with that comeback. Yugi hummed a tune to himself, nearly skipping ahead, only to be held to the Pharaoh's pace, not that he minded. There was something relaxing about strolling through the city holding hands with an attractive man, an attractive man who seemed to enjoy spending time with him.

A brilliantly smart, wonderfully attractive man whose taste ran towards leather pants and tight shirts that were cut low enough so that he could see a bit of tanned skin…

He shook his head to prevent his thoughts from running over, averting his gaze to the ground to hide his blush under his bangs. He really shouldn't be thinking of the Pharaoh like that, relieved that he had included the Pharaoh's mind in that assessment, not wanting to be attracted to the Time Lord just for his body. And what a body it was…

"Yugi?"

"Yeah." He looked up quickly, realizing that they had managed to walk out of the city while he had been wrestling his thoughts back into line, blinking as he noticed how dark it was getting. Yugi cleared his throat before gesturing in one direction, "That way. Any real plan yet?"

"I told you physic paper."

"I know but, dignitaries, investors-"

"Kitchen staff."

"You have got to be kidding me." Yugi stopped in his tracks, watching as the Pharaoh walked steadily onward. He glanced back towards the city of Domino, the lights flickering on in the twilight, looking back to see the Pharaoh still waiting. He sighed and rolled his eyes, running to catch up to the Pharaoh. "Tell me you're joking."

"I'm not joking. You learn more from listening to the kitchen staff. Besides, people don't look at you when you're a servant. It's safe."

"Of course you would take the safe route."

"With you, I have to." The Pharaoh gave him a mock glare, Yugi holding his hands up as a sign of surrender, letting them fall back to his sides, staring at the brightly lit house that they were approaching. He felt the Pharaoh grab his hand, allowing himself to be led around the side of the house, glancing back towards the warm light that was spilling out of the front door. Yugi sighed and ducked his head, noticing the parade of well dressed people into the house.

"Pharaoh, I don't think we're properly dressed."

"Leave it to me, Yugi." The Time Lord smiled back at him before coming around to the back door of the house and knocking on it. Yugi hid in the shadows, watching as the door was opened by a frazzled looking man, the Pharaoh merely smiling and flashing the physic paper at him, the man relaxing with a single glance at the paper.

"Thank God, I was just about to go insane." Yugi rushed after the Pharaoh as the Time Lord was pulled through the door, the man talking as he led them through the busy kitchens. They were pushed into an empty room, two cheap tuxedos thrown at them. Yugi glance dubiously at his, wondering why they had two small tuxedos on hand before looking up at the man again. "We're down by four tonight and we need you two to take drinks around. I'll meet you back out here."

The door slammed shut, Yugi staring at it before turning around, his eyes widening as he realized that the Pharaoh had taken off his purple shirt and had the white shirt for the tuxedo on, not buttoned at all. His gaze moved over the tanned skin, quickly turning around as the Pharaoh reached for his belts, stripping off his own shirt and getting undressed. He quickly dressed again, waiting until he was sure that he was covered before straightening himself up. Yugi froze as he felt hands on his shoulders moving up into his hair. He was about to call out when he felt his usually spiked hair being pulled back into a quick ponytail, the Pharaoh spinning him around, straightening out his bangs. "So they won't recognize you immediately."

"W-what about you?" He stumbled over the words, feeling the warmth from the Pharaoh's hands on his shoulders.

"People rarely see what they want to see."

Yugi stared at him for a long while, his mind trying to working around what the Pharaoh had said before he broke out into a smile. "Perception filter."

The Pharaoh smiled and pulled up his sleeve, the leather collar that he rigged for Yugi on his arm. Yugi nodded before quickly folding up his clothes and shoving them into a corner where he could get them later. The Time Lord was waiting for him at the door, opening it to allow Yugi to walk out first. The man who had let them in appeared suddenly out of the chaos, handing them both trays loaded with drinks before rushing away again. Yugi blinked and looked up at the flutes of champagne before looking at the Pharaoh, the Time Lord already waiting for him. They looked at each other before taking a deep breath, stepping out into the crowded room.

Yugi immediately moved to the outskirts, allowing the Pharaoh to work the center of the room. The Time Lord had a presence that Yugi could never copy, one that encouraged people to move out of the way so he would walk through the crowd. Yugi shook his head, continuing to move slowly around the room. He found himself stealing glancing at the people who were gathered here, trying to catch a glimpse of his mother in this world, finally giving up as he realized that there were just too many people. He was briefly reminded of the crowds at the Black Crown when they had released a new game, suddenly glad that he was sticking to the outer edges.

It didn't take long for his tray to empty, Yugi carefully tucking the tray against his side before moving back towards the kitchens. He thought he got a glimpse of the Pharaoh, the Time Lord slipping away to some other part of the house. He rolled his eyes, spotting a space to move through the crowd, quickly taking advantage of the path.

"You there, young man." Yugi paused, turning to look at the elderly man reclined in the chair, his eyes widening in shock as he recognized him. This was his grandfather, the man called Solomon Mutou in this world. He gave a small smile, going to bow when he remember his place. He paused halfway through the motion, looking up as Solomon laughed. "So you were trained in the old customs."

"Y-yeah. They leak through sometimes."

"Nothing wrong with that." Solomon's eyes went to the empty tray that he held, the elderly man sighing. "Ah, I see I stopped you too late."

"I'm on my way for another tray. I could stop by this way when I get back."

"It's better not to tempt me. I'm not as young as I used to be." Yugi smiled at that, standing up straight and glancing towards the kitchen, about to leave when he saw someone else flop down in one of the chairs, Solomon chuckling at the newcomer. "You done?"

"I've met with all the guests, pretended that they are the most interesting people I've ever met and stopped myself from about ten arguments with my wife." The man ran a hand over his face glancing at Yugi. "And now the closest drink tray is completely empty. Are you ready to play the old man?"

"I'd thought you'd never ask. But first," he turned to look at Yugi, "young man, a cup of tea, if that can be arranged. Earl Grey. I'm afraid that I've grown accustomed to this English stuff."

"Of course, sir."

"Two sugars only."

Yugi nodded and went back into the kitchens, surprised when his tray was taken from him by a small woman in a maid outfit and he was handed a mug of tea. Yugi was about to walk away when another one was passed to him, shrugged before venturing back out. The kitchen staff were probably well adjusted to any of the family's requests. He carefully picked his way back to the chairs, glancing at the mugs. He was shocked when Solomon reached out to take one, the black haired man taking the other, the two apparently knowing which ones held which. He bowed again and was about to leave when Solomon called him back. "Wait."

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm needed in the kitchens."

"They'll understand. I need someone to talk to who isn't one of…them." Yugi glanced around at the rest of the guests before slowly nodding. He shifted nervously in place, waiting for this small session to be over so he could go back to his work. While he had wanted to see his grandfather again badly, he didn't want to let anything slip that would cause Solomon to become suspicious.

"Thank you. What's your name?"

Yugi glanced up fearfully before swallowing. "Yugi, sir."

He heard the other man take a short breath of shock, wincing at the sound. The man seemed to recover first, clearing his throat and taking a sip of his tea. "Interesting."

Solomon seemed to have recovered from the shock faster. "So, what are you doing here on a Friday night? Certainly there is something more fun you can do."

Yugi hesitated for a moment before telling a version of the truth. "I have to work to help out my mother. We're all each other have."

"There aren't many like you anymore, Yugi."

"T-thank you, sir. Now I really must be getting back."

"Alright." Solomon glanced over at the man by his side. "Daniel, don't you think a boy with that name should work in a game shop?"

"It's your shop, Solomon."

"Daniel, just because this young man has your son's name doesn't mean that you can be rude."

"You have a son?" Yugi bit his lip as he blurted the question out, flinching back as Daniel looked up at him. He should have known better than to pry into this. He was about to stutter out an apology when Daniel spoke.

"I don't. He's dead."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"I…I never knew him, so I don't know if it's really a loss."

Yugi smiled softly. "Of course it is. He was still your son."

Daniel looked up at him, Yugi wondering what the man was thinking. He didn't have long to think on it before he heard someone shout, the familiar voice of his mother automatically making him cringe. "You there! I thought I told you that it was forbidden to talk to the guests! And don't bow to me!"

Yugi forced himself up from his bow, quickly backing away towards the kitchen. His hand clenched into fists as he snuck a look at his mother. She had never spoken to him like that before, not back in his own world, but this was a different world. He turned around, ready to head back into the kitchen and make the circuit of the room again with his tray of drinks. He was still close enough to catch the rest of the conversation.

"Junri, there was no need for that."

"He was addressing you directly, father, servants shouldn't do that."

"I asked him to stay and speak."

"Don't encourage them!"

Yugi sighed and ducked his head, zigzagging through the crowd of people. He should have listened to the Pharaoh and stayed away from this place. It was disappointing to meet his family like this. While it was wonderfully to see his grandfather and the man who could have been his father, his mother was completely different, the drastic difference making him homesick. He had to remind himself that it would be hours before they were able to leave and that he would have to make due. Anyway, the Pharaoh had once warned him to be careful what he wished for.

He sighed, resting a hand on the kitchen door to go in, glancing back at his father and grandfather. Yugi was about to open the door when he tensed, glancing out over the crowd. He thought that he had felt something, a spike of fear and worry. He shook his head, he was just imagining things. Yugi stepped to one side to allow a guest to move past him more easily, freezing as he heard his name being shouted. "Yugi!"

Yugi turned toward the sound, seeing that his father and grandfather did the same. His mother had disappeared into the sea of guests, Yugi turning his focus from the people that would have been his family, watching as the Pharaoh moved towards him, his heart starting to pound fast. Something was wrong.

* * *

He had only slipped into the room because it had a computer, something that he would need. He wanted to check out this Kaiba Corporation more fully, something nagging at him. It had been simple to hack into the computer and then into the files of the company until he had found something that had caught his interest. The fact that the people of this time were getting information downloaded directly into their heads was something of a worry and something that shouldn't be happening. As he had walked through the crowded room, he had noticed that everyone had those EarBuds, the sheer number of the pieces of technology setting him on edge.

But the thing that he had discovered had sent his hearts pounding quickly. Noa Kaiba had discovered a way to preserve the human mind in a metal suit, a way to remove the functions that made humans what they were so they were lived on. Humans encased in a metal shell with all their emotions removed and a design that was far too familiar to him. His first reaction was to seek out Yugi. If all the important people were at this party, Noa would strike here.

The Pharaoh dodged around an old couple, grabbing onto Yugi as he looked around, only now realizing that the faintest flashes of metal could be seen on the grounds, which meant that the house was already surrounded. He didn't have time to get his companion out, so he would have to wait for the confusion to use that as a cover.

He felt Yugi tighten his grip, the Pharaoh looked down at the human. "What it is?"

"Something bad." The words were barely out of his mouth before metal shapes appeared in the windows. The Pharaoh had time to realize that they were human shaped before they punched the windows in, the Time Lord pulling Yugi close and turning them so that Yugi was protected by him. He looked up as the screams started, watching as the people rushed towards the exits and the back wall in their fear. The Pharaoh turned slightly, the sounds of screams now mixing with the heavy tread of the metal men. He glanced around before shoving Yugi toward a door, the two of them sprinting.

The Pharaoh saw a flash of metal in the light, reaching out to grab Yugi back as another one of the metal men came stomping through the door, the Time Lord clutching Yugi close as he backed toward the center of the room. He knew what was happening; they were being herded into a group. He gritted his teeth, looking for an exit as Yugi struggled in his arms. They had to get out of here before it was too late, with these creatures, killing would be merciful.

"Pharaoh, ow, what are they?" Yugi struggled out of his grip, carefully rubbing his shoulder. The Pharaoh felt a flash of guilt but quickly ignored it. He would apologize for yanking Yugi around later when they were safe.

"Cybermen."

"That head…it looks like the one in Van Statten's museum."

"It's the same thing." The Pharaoh backed deeper into the crowd, Yugi doing the same. "They were creatures from another planet in our universe, but here, they were invented by a person. A very specific person."

"Cease shouting." The voice from one of the Cybermen boomed out over the crowd, hollow and metallic. "I speak for Cybus Industries. I will address the mayor."

A man worked his way through the crowd, the Pharaoh glancing back to see that they were close to one of the broken windows, the gravel of the garden paths a few feet away from the window sill. They would be able to escape quickly, if this was the only group here. And the Pharaoh had a feeling that it wasn't, this whole party had been turned into a trap. He returned his attention to the man he assumed to be the mayor, hoping that he would stall the Cybermen long enough for them to get out.

The Cyberman looked down at the mayor. "We are the next version of humanity, eliminating race, religion and sex to create a peaceful world and prolong the life of humanity. Through the Cyber Controller's own orders, the people of this world are to be brought to be upgraded."

The mayor glanced around the room slowly. "And what if I refuse?"

"That would be considered an unwise choice."

"What if I refuse?"

The Cyberman was silent for a moment, like it was receiving orders from its master. The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes before shaking his head, moving back through the crowd. To stop the Cybermen, they would have to find their way into Cybus Industries, which would mean depending on Yugi and his phone. The Time Lord held back a curse as he remembered his other companion. In all this madness, they would still have to find Joey. He hoped that the blonde would have the sense to stay safe until they could get to him.

Communication between the Cyberman and its leader appeared to have stopped because the Cyberman spoke up again. "Then you will be deleted."

The mayor sighed and shook his head. "That isn't something I can agree to. And Mr. Kaiba should know better than to send a show of force. It won't prove anyth-AH!"

The mayor collapsed to the floor, his body still twitching from the electricity that had run through it. The Cyberman closed its hand into a fist, slowly turning in place before reaching out for the next victim, the party goers taking that as their signal to scatter. They rushed off in all directions, blocking each others escape in their frantic need to get out of the room. The Pharaoh ducked under a swinging arm before pushing Yugi towards the windows, watching as his companion sprinted through the crowd before leaping out of a window, the Pharaoh following soon after.

Yugi was standing up and brushing the pieces of gravel off him when the Pharaoh caught his hand, pulling him toward the front of the house. The Pharaoh was yanked back when Yugi turned around, the line of Cybermen appearing from around the side of the house. The two rushed back towards the broken windows, two more figures jumping from the ballroom. The Pharaoh recognized one as Yugi's grandfather, but the other was unfamiliar. He didn't have long to think about it, lunging for the man as he tried to get back in. "My wife is in there!"

"She's dead then!" The man sagged, the Pharaoh turning around as the line of Cybermen came around the house. As things were right now, they were cut off completely. He cursed and turned in a circle, tensing as he saw two three figures rushing towards them, relaxing when he realized that they were humans.

"Joey!" Yugi rushed from his side, one of the blondes rushing over to him. The Pharaoh followed at a slower pace, noting that the brunette was pulling out a gun. He reacted an instant too slow, the brunette starting to fire at the Cybermen. The Pharaoh snarled and pulled the gun away from him, throwing it off in one direction.

"You idiot. Now they think we're hostile." The Pharaoh took a step back as the Cybermen circled around them, his gaze darting around the small group of people that he had managed to gather. It was a motley group, the one ones that he was really worried about being Yugi and Joey, they were the ones he was directly responsible for. He glanced back towards the party, wincing at the screams that were still coming from the windows. He turned back around, carefully raising his arms in surrender as the metal men surrounded them. "We surrender, take us to be upgraded."

If they could get to the factory, they could shut down the equipment and, hopefully, the Cybermen themselves. And this was easier than having to fight their way through the Cybermen, less chance of casualties too. The Pharaoh squared his shoulders, feeling the glares of the men on his back, but he didn't care.

"You are rogue stock. You are unfit for upgrading. You will be deleted."

The Pharaoh stared at the Cyberman in shock. "But we surrendered!"

"All rogue stock must be deleted." The Cyberman stuck its hand out, a series of clanks coming from around the circle as the other Cybermen reached for them as well. The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes as he looked at all of them, deciding that Plan B was coming into effect quickly. He lowered his hands slightly, ignoring the monotone chanting of the Cyberman as he reached for his pocket. "Delete. Delete."


	20. The Age of Steel

** Chapter Nineteen: The Age of Steel **

_"We think of the humans. We think of their difference and their pain. They suffer in the skin. They must be upgraded."  
-Cyberman_

"Delete. Delete." The Pharaoh quickly stuck one hand into his pocket, his fingers curling around the crystal before pulling it out, pointing it at the Cybermen. There was a faint pulse of light from the crystal, the Pharaoh feeling a tug on his mind as he connected with the small bit of the TARDIS he had left to him. It responded suddenly, blue light moving from the crystal to the Cyberman in front of him, jumping through the metal bodies of the Cybermen and sending them to the ground.

He jumped over one of the twitching bodies before looking back toward the mansion, hoping that they hadn't been spotted. His quick survey was interrupted by the blue van that came tearing towards them, the Pharaoh glancing over at the rest of the group. He wasn't surprised to see that there was an exact double of Joey there, the man snapping his cell phone shut. There would be time to marvel over these things later, when they were safely away. The Pharaoh reached down to grab Yugi's hand, towing him towards the van as it slowed.

Joey and his double were the first in, followed by the brunette and Solomon. The Pharaoh pushed Yugi toward the van before reaching out of the vehicle to grab onto the man. He glared at the human as the man struggled to get free, Yugi eventually helping him haul the man into the van. The Pharaoh slammed the door shut, seeing the Cybermen inside the house turning their attention to the van before the doors were completely shut. He cursed before turning to look at the blonde woman who was in the driver's seat. "Drive!"

She nodded and stepped on the gas, the Pharaoh bracing himself as the van sped away, some of the humans falling to the floor as they were unprepared for the move. He glanced around before sinking onto one of the benches, Yugi crawling from his place on the floor to sit by him, the Pharaoh reaching out to hold his hand when Joey's double spoke up. "No way, turn around. We're not carrying out Noa's helpers, they can deal with that."

"I would be careful about talking about killing people in my presence." The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow, glaring at Joey's double before settling back.

"And who are you to challenge me?"

"The one who would win. Now, who are all of you?"

"They're a group working against Noa and Kaiba Corporation." Joey spoke up, moving himself from his place between the brunette and his double, both of whom were glaring at him angrily. The Pharaoh thought he heard one of them whisper about him being a spy, ignoring it as he focused on Joey. "I don't know anything other than that except they get information from a Gemini guy and the operation is secret."

"I told you he was a spy!"

"Quiet!" The Pharaoh glared at Joey's double and the brunette before rubbing his forehead with a sigh. "The first thing we're doing is heading for the company where these things are made."

"Right." The blonde woman piped up from the front. "But I can only guarantee you a certain distance. After that, this thing becomes too suspicious."

"Alright, so we'll have to walk, more time for scouting out our positions." The Pharaoh nodded to himself glancing as Solomon and the black haired man. "You two, take out those EarBuds; they're probably how Noa got his connections to even get the Cybermen into the mansion. It's how they could capture the whole population." He leaned back with a snort of disgust. "And you humans will just accept anything."

Solomon and the man both pulled the EarBuds out quickly, the Pharaoh nodding before opening his mouth to talk again, interrupted by Joey's double. "Who are you? You have no right to be ordering us around. For all we know, you're one of them, trying to get us off guard. Besides, you have no idea what's going on here."

The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes, glaring at Joey's double. "You'll find that I do."

"No, you don't. You can't just come waltzing in and expect people to do as you-" He was cut off as the blonde woman slammed on the brake, all of them falling forward suddenly. Joey's double was actually sent to the floor, cursing as he stood back up. "Damn it, Mai, what was that about?"

Mai turned around to glare at him, the van stopped for the moment. "You listen to him Katsuya, he knows what he's doing! He has a plan!"

"So do we!"

"Right, wait for more information and keep away from our families. The most you figured out was that Kaiba was behind it and it linked to the EarBuds. So, shut up and listen."

Jou grumbled as he sat back down, the Pharaoh giving a grateful nod before leaning forward and looking at the small force that he had. "Solomon, I know you're associated with Kaiba Corporation. Do you know anything about this?"

"No, my son-in-law handles that area. Daniel?"

Daniel straightened up, running a hand through his hair with a long sigh. "Well, Noa was pitching something that sounded suspiciously like this today, probably to preserve his own life. But there weren't a lot of other things, most of them were just toys and I checked every angle I could on his inventions, believe me. And then I sent anything that looked suspicious on a secure wavelength under a codename" He paused and glared at the others, shaking his head. "I thought I was broadcasting to a group of professionals, not some teenagers in their van."

"Hey!"

The Pharaoh cut off whatever else Jou was going to say with a glare before leaning back in his seat, watching the scenery through the windshield. "It got right where it needed to be. We'll need you for when we go in to shut this down."

They were jolted forward again, Mai cursing before unbuckling her seatbelt. "This is as far as we go, boys. I suggest getting out and running."

Light from the streetlamps glinted off metal as the Cybermen marched towards them. Yugi threw open the back doors, all of them scrambling to get out before splitting up. The Time Lord reached for Yugi's hand, smiling as he caught it, turning him down an alley. He looked back over his shoulder, noticing that neither Joey nor Jou was following them, shaking his head before focusing on escaping from the Cybermen; they would catch up later.

"The warehouse is the other way!" He slowed, the brunette and Mai sprinting off in the other direction. The Pharaoh stayed behind, waiting until everyone had passed before breaking into a run again, Yugi matching his pace.

"Can Solomon keep up?"

"We won't leave him behind, Yugi. I promise." The Pharaoh glanced up towards the old man in question, unsurprised to see that Solomon was keeping up fairly well with the others, although that could end at any moment. He shook his head, glancing around carefully for any sign of the Cybermen.

It was Mai who saw them first, stumbling to a stop before motioning towards a bank of trashcans, the group quickly crawling behind it. The Pharaoh was the last one in, tensing as he heard the crash of the metal feet against the ground, feeling Yugi press up close to him. For an instant, he wondered how Joey and his double were doing before forcing himself to focus back on their group. This wasn't like their other adventures, it wasn't just a small group of three; he had more people to worry about. It was more like the Time War now, his own little platoon on an alien planet. The Pharaoh pushed that thought away quickly as well, those were not memories he wanted to be reliving right now.

He reached into the pocket of his coat, glancing around at the group before pulling out his sonic screwdriver, shifting slightly in place before pointing it away from the Cybermen. Hopefully a stray signal would be enough to divert their attention. The Pharaoh adjusted the setting on the screwdriver before pressing the button on the side. He peeked through a gap in the trashcans, watching as the Cybermen turned as a group and because marching back towards the false signal, everyone relaxing as they left. The Pharaoh motioned for them to stay behind the bins for a moment longer. "What's the shortest route to the warehouse? We need to get there as fast as possible to avoid those things."

"Follow me." Daniel stood up, glancing around before breaking into a jog, the other filing out after him. The Pharaoh took up the position of rear guard again, not surprised when Yugi dropped back to keep pace with him. He smiled at his companion, glancing ahead to where the others ran.

"Do you think that Joey will be alright?"

"He'll be fine." The Pharaoh nodded to himself, a simple reassurance of the fact. Joey was smart enough to find his own way around the Cybermen and make it safely to the warehouse. While he had the same bravado that his double had, it wasn't in any amount that would make him do stupid things, something that Jou would do, he could tell that about the other man already. He shook his head, focusing on keeping up with the others and watching for Cybermen. There was always the chance that he wouldn't hear their footsteps in time.

A shout came from the front of the group, Mai and her brunette friend slowing and pointing to a fence. The Pharaoh came to a quick stop, staring at the Cybermen that were on the other side of the fence, about to call the group back when he saw one figure scale the fence, quickly dropping down onto the other side. Another one was further behind, jumping to get a hold of the fence before the metal men caught him. The blonde braced himself before beginning to climb, obviously taking too much time. The Pharaoh muttered a curse just before one of the Cybermen reached up to grab the blonde's leg, the human screaming and twitching as electricity ran through his body.

"No!" Mai tried to rush forward, only to be stopped but the brunette. The remaining blonde man remained by the fence as the other's body fell to the ground, only then turning around and running away, the Cybermen turning back the direction they had come from. They would probably try to find another way around, which meant that they had to keep on moving.

The Pharaoh gave Yugi a shove in the right direction, Daniel and Solomon already rushing away. The Pharaoh stopped long enough to grab onto Mai and begin to pull her away, partially aware that the blonde had rejoined their group. He glanced at the human, ducking his head when he figured out who it was, Mai pulling away from him at that moment. "Jou? Jou is that you? Katsuya, if this is a joke, it isn't funny!"

"I'm…I'm sorry."

"Joey?" The blonde looked up at Yugi's question nodding slowly. Joey flinched as Mai slapped him, the woman dissolving into tears the next moment. She punched him one more time before clinging to him, Joey tentatively wrapping an arm around her in support.

"We need to keep moving." The Pharaoh glared the brunette down, turning towards Mai and resting a hand on her arm. "We'll come back for him, I promise. But let's save everyone else first."

She nodded slowly, pushing Joey from her as he tried to lead her away, the group slipping through the alleys of Domino, pausing to duck into the shadows as Cybermen patrolled the streets, all of them heading in one direction. There was something strange about that, it was calling in the troops before the battle had even started, but that was the problem. It meant that there was something to guard. He didn't have much time to think over what they were going to guard when the first humans came ambling down the streets, all of them with a far away look in their eyes as they shuffled forward. The Pharaoh waved the rest of the group on, noticing the fear filled glances that they shot back at the shuffling people as he and Yugi wove through the neat lines.

It was Yugi who pointed to the flashing light on the EarBuds, glancing over at the Pharaoh. "Well, we know what's happening with them."

"Humans." The Pharaoh rolled his eyes, pulling out his sonic screwdriver to try and get a fix on the signal. He hoped that it was coming from the same place that the Cybermen were, his plan already having them split up to get inside. It would be hard to rework it so they could go to a separate location as well. He took a step back, allowing the line of humans to walk around him, looking down the line toward where they were headed; hoping for a clue. To his knowledge, they were heading for the warehouse, hopefully making things a little bit easer. He sighed and went back to examining the EarBuds. "You guys are always getting yourselves in over your heads."

He was aware that Yugi was glaring at him, throwing his companion a smile only to be distracted by the sight of Yugi in a tuxedo. The Pharaoh turned his gaze away, watching the line of humans without any real need to, he just needed the distraction. Now was not the time to be thinking about pinning Yugi to a wall and doing things that were definitely beneath him as a Time Lord. But, oh how he wanted to anyway.

"Can't we just take them out?" The Pharaoh stared at Yugi, his mind trying to catch up with what the human had said. Yugi sighed and gestured at the EarBuds. "Can't we just stop the signal by taking them out?"

"We could, but there's a high chance that the shock to their brains would kill them." Yugi winced, the Pharaoh stepping away from the line of humans to look at Yugi. "But if we stop the signal, they'll probably run. Come on."

They jogged after the others, finding them waiting near the harbor. Their group had clambered up on top of some crates, watching the line of people enter the building. The Pharaoh gave Yugi a boost before scrambling up onto the crates himself, watching the warehouse carefully. He was sure that there was more than just that one entrance that the mesmerized people where using, but it was probably the most direct way in. The Pharaoh glanced up at the zeppelin that was moored to the roof of the warehouse, tipping his head as he watched the display of light flashing on it. He would be willing to bet that the signal was coming from there, which meant that they had to get people up there as well. The Time Lord considered the problem before nodding to himself, motioning for the rest of the group to gather closer.

"We're splitting into groups, one to shut down the signal and the other two to get into the warehouse. We'll need people to walk through the front door."

"That'll be me." Yugi piped up, looking resolute. "If you deactivate some EarBuds, we could just blend right in. We'll be able to look for M-Junri that way."

The Pharaoh stared at Yugi for a long moment, wanting to forbid his companion to go. That way would be the most dangerous; one slip up alerting the Cybermen that he wasn't under the control of their signal. Yugi could be killed instantly. He forced himself to stare at the crates, just listening as Mai spoke up, the woman shifting through the pack around her waist. "I have three sets of deactivated EarBuds right here. We can send three in, but no more."

"We'll go." Daniel and Solomon spoke before the Pharaoh could open his mouth, the Time Lord slumping as the two reached out to accept the EarBuds with Yugi. Daniel adjusted his before looking up at the group. "My wife is in there and I want to get her out."

"R-right." The Pharaoh stumbled over the word, no one but Yugi noticing the stutter. The human stared at him, absently adjusting the EarBuds so that they would stay in, the Pharaoh looking away. "Is there another way in?"

"There's a system of underground tunnels leading to other warehouses." Mai sat up, pointing at a warehouse close to them. "You can find one entrance there, they lead to trapdoors right into Cybus Industries' main warehouse."

She smiled at the astounded look that all the males gave her, reaching up to pull her blonde hair back into a ponytail. "I used to work for them until I discovered something that I shouldn't have. I decided to run out of there before something happened to me but that doesn't mean that I forgot everything."

The Pharaoh smiled before rocking back onto his heels. "Good, I'll go down there."

"You're not going alone." Yugi glared at him, the Time Lord tempted to demand that he accompany him into the tunnels but stopped himself. It wasn't his place to order Yugi around like that; the human was free to make his own choices. The Pharaoh sighed and nodded slowly, giving in to Yugi's demand.

"I'll take him." The brunette smiled and held out a hand. "Hiroto Honda at your service."

The Pharaoh shook Honda's hand, turning his gaze back towards the warehouse, focusing on the zeppelin. "While we go in, we'll need someone to take out that signal. There are people we won't be able to save, but if we work fast, we can save the rest."

"That'll be me then." Mai smirked shedding her jacket to tie it around her waist, winking at him. "I'm more than just a pretty face, you know."

"Take Joey." He didn't miss her look of disgust, rolling his eyes before pointing to the blonde. "Joey can guard your back."

"I work better alone."

"You don't now."

"Who are you to tell me how to do things?" She glared at him, the Pharaoh returning the glare.

"I'm the one trying to save your life."

"You didn't save Jou's." He didn't flinch at that accusation, Mai pursing her lips before turning to glare at Joey. "Come on you."

The two climbed down from their perch, quickly disappearing into the dark, the Pharaoh watching them for as long a she could. They were their best bet and shutting this entire place down. He relaxed a bit when he couldn't see any Cybermen around, shaking his head before turning to look at the others, the rest of their small group climbing down to the ground.

Honda started off in the direction that Mai had indicated, the Pharaoh remaining behind for a moment. Yugi noticed and rolled his eyes, walking over to the Time Lord and giving him a hug. The Pharaoh returned the motion, staring down at Yugi's shoulder before tightening his hold, hoping that his companion would get out of this alive. He didn't want to lose Yugi. The human chuckled and pulled away slightly. "Take care of yourself, Pharaoh."

"Don't I always?"

"I mean it." Yugi glared at the bow tie on the Pharaoh suit, reaching up to fix it. His fingers lingered over the tie before he looked up at the Time Lord. The Pharaoh was about to ask what was wrong when Yugi leaned up to kiss him, just a quick peck on the lips before he was moving away again. "I want you in one piece."

"Alright, Yugi." The Pharaoh smiled before leaning forward to kiss Yugi on the forehead, reluctantly letting the human go. "Be careful."

"Pharaoh…I…" Yugi shook his head and smiled. "We'll talk."

The human rushed to catch up to Solomon and Daniel, the Pharaoh turning around to look a Honda, the brunette looking at him with a raised eyebrow. The Pharaoh shrugged and motioned for Honda to lead him to the warehouse, the brunette waiting until the Time Lord had fallen into step with him to talk. "So, is he your brother?"

"No. We just happen to look alike."

"Really." Honda hummed, sticking his hands in his pockets, letting the Pharaoh open the door to the warehouse. "He looks a lot like Solomon."

"It happens." The Pharaoh grunted, sliding the door open before stepping into the room, wishing that he had brought his coat. The warehouse was dim, but he could make out shadows. It wasn't the kind of place that he wanted to walk into with Cybermen around. He shrugged to himself before walking in, searching the floor for the trapdoor, spotting it off to one side. He turned to wave Honda over, noticing that the human had wandered in the wrong direction.

They lifted the door up, Honda fumbling in his pocket for a flashlight before he shone it down into the tunnel, the brunette recoiling quickly as the beam landed on metal suits. "Shit!"

The Pharaoh grabbed the flashlight before it fell into the tunnel, glaring at the human before taking a look, letting out a sigh as he realized what they were. They were Cybermen, but they weren't active, but that didn't mean that they weren't already processed. He bit his lip before passing the flashlight back to Honda, swinging his legs over and beginning his decent down the ladder. His arm was caught by Honda, the brunette leaning over the hole. "Are you crazy?"

"This is our only way in. The other tunnels are probably being used as storage too." The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes and pulled his arm away from Honda. "Are you coming or not?"

He didn't wait for Honda's response, climbing down the rest of the way and standing in the cramped passage, one of the walls lined with Cybermen. Again, he cursed his lack of foresight to transfer his flashlight into the pockets of his suit, glad that he had at least taken the sonic screwdriver. The Time Lord resisted the urge to grab for the tool, keeping his hands by his sides as he edged through the tunnel, hearing a soft grunt as Honda finally came into the tunnel.

The steady beam from the flashlight was focused ahead of them as the two men stuck close to the concrete wall, the Pharaoh glancing between the still metal suits and the tunnel ahead of him. Mentally he calculated the distance between the warehouse and the one that they were heading for, taking a deep breath and moving faster. While he was sure that these suits weren't active, they could become so at any moment. If Cybus Industries could afford to create the advanced technology needed to build the suits, it wasn't a far stretch of the imagination to believe that they had sensors down in the tunnels. The Pharaoh was counting on the ones in charge of this operating being distracted, but there was no telling how long that would last.

"So, if you're not brothers, then who is that guy to you?"

The Pharaoh shot an annoyed glance at Honda before focusing ahead again. "Why do you ask?"

"Just trying to ease the tension."

The Time Lord rolled his eyes before sighing. "He's my companion."

"Like, a hired prostitute?" Honda froze as the Pharaoh turned to glare at the man, the brunette raising his arms in a sign of surrender. "A lover?"

"Neither. And you don't need to pry into my business."

"Well, you're the one that I'm stuck with and I have a right to know what's going on."

"Worry about what's going on now and just trust me."

"Yeah." Honda laughed and shook his head. "That's how Noa got all of us. He told us to trust him and then made fancy things that people couldn't live without. When they all started to sync up I got suspicious."

"So you gave everything up to risk your life with Jou?"

Honda blushed. "Not immediately. It took him a while to convince me that something was wrong, but I eventually saw it. We were the ones to stumble across Gemini…or Daniel, I guess since he was the one sending us that stuff."

"You didn't have to believe him."

"Yeah, but I wanted a good life for me and Serenity. I was engaged to her before all of this and we broke it off, but she understands. I even convinced her to let Mai deactivate her EarBuds, for her own safety." Honda chuckled to himself. "As soon as this is over, I'm marrying her and we're getting our own house, nothing like that little thing she lives in now and we're going to be happy."

"Sounds good."

"Huh, I thought you wouldn't agree." The Pharaoh looked back at Honda, the man just shrugging. "You look like one of those men who look down at others who want to settle down, one of those that says it ties you down too much."

"No." He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, the image of brilliant brown eyes popping into his head, the Pharaoh wincing before opening his eyes again. It was best not to think about her now; she had gone out of his life long before Gallifrey had been destroyed. He shook his head, forcing himself to think of nothing but moving quickly through the cramped tunnel. "I was married once, they were some of the best years of my life."

"Really? You look pretty young."

"I'm older than you think."

"Ah…" Honda fell silent for a moment, the Pharaoh steeling himself for the questions that were sure to come. "Was she pretty?"

"I thought so."

"That's the important thing." Honda laughed, sobering a moment later. "Did you love her?"

The Pharaoh swallowed, his gaze dropping to the ground as they moved through the tunnel. After all the years, it was hard to tell, the old feelings covered by the heartbreak he had suffered with her betrayal and his horror at her death. The horrible part was that he understood why she had grown away from him and later betrayed him. But the standards of Time Lord society, he wasn't the best person to be associated with. She was only looking out for their children. And what had he done to help them? He had killed the ones that were left when he destroyed Gallifrey. And Naia…

 _"Grandfather? Grandfather, don't go! Please don't leave me!"_ He closed his eyes and took a ragged breath, trying to calm himself down. Naia had been fine after she had gotten over the shock. For all the progressive thoughts that the girl had entertained, she had been frightened about falling in love with someone of a different species. He had kept up with her as much as possible, but the planet where she had once lived had been a casualty of the Time War. He flinched at the thought before answering Honda's question. "I did."

They walked in silence, the Pharaoh steering his thoughts away from the events of the past nearly constantly. He didn't want to be reminded of them anymore, of all the mistakes that he had made and all of the loved ones that he had lost. Some part of him wanted to be rid of the memories, to let them die. But, then again, he didn't want to ever forget. He ducked his head, closing his eyes for a moment as he tried to calm himself down again. He just had to focus on the moment and then he could lose himself when he got back to the TARDIS.

"Hey, look at that." Honda moved the flashlight, drawing the Pharaoh's attention to the ladder at the other end of the tunnel, a smile crossing his face. They were close to the exit now, he moved faster, tensing as he heard the sound of metal scraping against the concrete. The Pharaoh paused, turning to look back down the tunnel. With the lack of light it took him a moment to make out the form of something moving, one of the Cybermen suits. The Pharaoh cursed and ran, ducking low as the other suits began moving. He could hear Honda stumbling along after him, reaching for his sonic screwdriver as he jumped, grabbing onto the ladder and hauling himself up quickly.

As he suspected, the top of the trapdoor was locked, the Pharaoh pressing the sonic screwdriver against the top, forcing himself to calm down as the tool worked, glancing down as Honda climbed up after him. The man glanced up at him fearfully, the Pharaoh not bothering to reassure him, his attention caught as the trapdoor clanked, smiling as he put the sonic in his mouth and pushed up against the trapdoor, the section of floor moving slowly upward. He grunted around the tool, forcing himself to hurry, nearly throwing the trapdoor open to jump out, hauling Honda out.

The two of them slammed the trapdoor shut, Honda leaning on it as the Cybermen tried to lift it again, the Pharaoh pressing the sonic back against it to lock it again, both of them relaxing when it locked. Honda slumped against the ground for a moment before standing up, stretching. "Well that was interesting."

The Pharaoh nodded, about to answer when Honda turned around, his eyes going wide before he produced a small metal cylinder from his pocket and tossed it at something behind the Pharaoh. The Time Lord recoiled, standing up quickly to see the Cyberman that had been advancing on him, the sound of the other Cybermen below trying to get out muffling the sound of the other Cyberman's approach. He blinked and looked over at Honda. The brunette gave the Time Lord a shaky smile. "It's a handheld EMP, Mai made it."

"She's a woman of many skills."

"Yeah." Honda shrugged, going over to kneel by the Cybernman. "Jou never appreciated her enough for that. He just liked her because she was pretty, but Jou could be shallow like that sometimes."

The Pharaoh nodded before moving over to the Cyberman, the sonic screwdriver still in his hand. He glanced around before pressing the tool against the emblem on the metal suit's chest, staring at the stylized 'C' before turning on the sonic, gently prying open the emblem as he did so. The emblem was thrown to the side as he stared at the interior of the suit, staring at the few lights that flashed on and off, white web-like filaments strewn all over.

He looked up as Honda retrieved the emblem to pull off the EMP, glancing at it before pocketing it again. "Needs about half an hour to charge. Mai never got it to work faster."

The Pharaoh gave a hum of interest, setting the tool aside to gently prod at the inside of the metal suit, Honda coming to kneel beside him. The human pointed towards the white webbing. "What is that stuff?"

He drew it out of the cavity, turning it in the light. "All of the nerves, all of them, ground up and made into this." Honda looked like he was going to throw up, the Pharaoh raising an eyebrow before lowering the webbing back into the hole, tapping a blinking chip. "Emotional inhibitor, so they don't know what they've become. They would scream if they…"

And that was how they were going to stop the Cybermen themselves. The Pharaoh looked guiltily at the Cyberman before him before picking up the sonic screwdriver and pushing it into the webbing, closing his eyes as he turned the tool on. The body gave a twitch before all the lights went out, the Pharaoh reaching out to place a hand over where the heart would have been. He didn't know why he had the urge to do this, maybe hoping that this one act would be enough to forgive him for what he was contemplating doing. "May your soul fly straight and true throughout eternity."

The Pharaoh sighed, opening his eyes and glancing over at Honda, the man looking impressed. "What was that?"

"Something from my home." The Pharaoh shrugged, rubbing his forehead before slowly standing up. "It doesn't matter. We have a way to stop the Cybermen…but…"

"Do it." Honda shook his head. "I don't care it is right or wrong. I want to be able to live a life. And these things…these are just wrong."

The Pharaoh stared at him in shock before nodding slowly, standing up and staring at the Cyberman that he had just murdered. If he could just ignore the fact that they were once human and focus on the fact that they were enemies, that they were trying to kill Yugi; but none of that would help. It would still be murder because they could feel again. He dropped his head into his hands, rubbing his temples as he tired to think of a way around it. Any way would be murder. The Pharaoh sighed, turning around to speak to Honda.

His eyes widened as he turned, too late to warn Honda of the Cyberman approaching him. The hand clamped down on the brunette's shoulder, Honda's body twitching uncontrollably as electricity ran through him. The Cyberman released Honda's body, letting it fall to the floor with a thud. The Pharaoh glanced down at the human, raising his gaze to the metal men.

"Sensors indicated a new life form. Subject will be escorted to the labs for further study." The Cyberman ground out the words, the Pharaoh not bothering to listen, staring at the body of the young man. Honda had a future, so much potential and it was gone in mere seconds. And Serenity, both her brother and her fiancée were gone, and it was all his fault. His shoulders sagged, allowing the Cybermen to form up a guard around him. The Pharaoh reverted his gaze to the floor as he was led away, listening to the steady pounding of the metal men's feet.

* * *

"The new life form is being escorted here." Noa glanced over at the Cyberman that was acting as the coordinator, nodding before turning his attention to the screen again. He had come here when the sensors in the tunnels had triggered, but there had only been two intruders, the normal one had been executed. He hummed to himself before spinning his chair around; wheeling down the bank of computers just to see what was going on.

So far, everything was going according to plan. Only one of the conversion units had shut down on them, but Noa had expected that, it had been the oldest one out of all of them. Their production rate was still higher than he had imagined, and he had just finished getting the signal completely right. Now the people of Domino were pouring in, forming up lines that would take them to their upgrades. Noa smiled to himself before turning around to face the few Cybermen that were in the room with him.

His smile disappeared as a figure was led into the room, Noa leaning forward with a frown. "Crump?" The short man gave him a quick bow, holding out a fisted hand before revealing that it held his pair of EarBuds. Noa looked at he pieces of technology before looking back at his right hand man. "Explain."

"My EarBuds seem to have malfunctioned when you started up the signal. But they were older models." Crump looked nervous for a second before moving away from his guard of Cybermen to place them on the console. Noa leaned over in his chair, watching as one of the pair sparked, wincing at that. Of course, he had not calculated that the older models wouldn't take the strain of the signal. But Crump was one of the few who had the older models. He would just have to figure out a way to get them here, but he had the rest of the city to deal with.

He turned around, rolling his chair back to the bank of the computers to double check on everything, making sure that Crump couldn't see his face. "So, why are you here?"

"To report to be upgraded." He spun around quickly at that, staring at Crump as the man looked around before approaching him. "When the EarBuds malfunctioned I was on my way in from securing the trucks anyway. And…did conversion unit 7 go out again?"

"I was expecting it to." Noa used the moment to get over his shock. "It was one of the older ones anyway. With the rate that the others are converting, it's no big deal."

"Until another one fails."

Noa stared at the screens, his first instinct to disbelieve Crump, but the man was his top scientific advisor. It would be better if they had two minds working on this instead of one, the Cybermen were just working as security at the moment. He cleared his throat, mentally weighing the decisions in his mind before nodding slowly. "Do you have a plan for that?"

"The trunk conversion units." Crump gestured in the direction of the trunks outside. "If we split the lines towards one or two of those, then we could make it work. They wouldn't be as fast, but it would take the strain off the others."

"Yes, I see." Noa tapped the arm rest of his chair before nodding. "Send the order to do that now."

"What about the other stations?"

Noa blinked before shaking his head, quickly sending up the screens for the stations around the area. While he hadn't quite managed to completely infiltrate Europe and America, Asia was filled with his conversion stations. They should have started up around the time he had gotten the signal working at full strength. He quickly read over the reports coming in from the stations, smiling and nodding slowly as he numbers pleased him. "Full efficiency. I have to complement you on that, Crump, you were the one who built those stations."

"Of course. Would I do any work that would not reflect well on me?" Noa didn't answer his question; too busy flipping through the various reports. To his eyes, nothing was going wrong, the stations were working flawlessly at full capacity and some of the older EarBuds had even managed to stay intact for this. He smiled to himself and leaned back in his chair, looking up at Crump.

It was only then that he noticed the strange expression on Crump's face, a faint twitch of the man's shoulder showing that it was moving behind his back. Noa frowned, trying to work out what Crump was doing. There was nothing behind him except some of the systems that kept him alive, if what he was now could even be called alive. He was about to bring it up when Crump suddenly stepped backwards, Noa staring at the tube that was in his hand before he tried to draw in a breath, failing as his lungs failed to inflate. His eyes widened and he reached for the oxygen mask, wanting to curse as he realized what Crump had done.

In moments of great excitement or shock, his system would fail him, meaning that he would have to get a jump start, but the equipment itself was getting old, the medical community struggling to come up with a more efficient way of keeping him alive. In the mean time, all he had was his oxygen tank, the tube that Crump had just disconnected.

Noa twitched, going limp in his chair as he waited for death, praying that his failing support system would work for once. He was answered, jolting forward suddenly at the shock that ran through his body, taking a large gulp of air before slumping again, wheezing slightly as his lungs still refused to inflate completely. He was aware of the Cybermen moving around him, forming a guard around him and restraining Crump as the man tried to get away. "I…I don't understand…why?"

"You're a brilliant kid, Noa." Noa flinched at the term kid, wishing he hadn't as it suddenly became harder to breathe. "But everyone dies and you can't stop it."

"This was our dream!"

"Your dream is wrong." Crump glared at him before he jerked, his mouth falling open in a silent scream as the Cyberman executed him, dropping the body to the floor where it twitched.

Noa stared at the man who had taken care of him since his father's death, feeling tears come to his eyes. He had never expected this to happen, not to him. All of his employees were loyal to him, mostly out of pity for his state, but it was something that he was proud of, that loyalty. Now, it was just an act. Noa scowled, about to issue the order to convert all of his employees, something that he had promised wouldn't happen before. They deserved it, all of them for their false loyalty and their pity. He didn't need any of it. He had his dream. And he couldn't breathe again.

He fumbled for his oxygen mask before remembering that it didn't work, his hand dropping to rest over his heart. He didn't want to die now, he was too young. There was so much that he hadn't had time to do, so much that he could give to the world! He wanted to live!

"Scans show that the body is failing. You must upgrade before the brain matter ceases to function."

Noa stared up at the cold metal face of his creation, weakly shaking his head. "No…I told you…I'll upgrade with…last breath."

The Cyberman moved from in front of him, Noa relaxing a fraction only to sit up and start to protest when he felt his wheelchair moving. He turned his head slightly, watching with wide eyes as the Cyberman pushed him towards the back of the control room. He knew what was waiting for him there, the one conversion unit that would be used for him and the suit that waited for him. Suddenly, he didn't want to do this, but he had no breath to protest, watching in fear as he was wheeled into the enclosure, his head lolling to the side as the Cyberman walked out of the conversion unit. "Then breathe no more."

The doors slid shut, leaving Noa alone in the dark as he tried to draw in a breath, his vision beginning to blacken around the edges. He only had a matter of seconds left, and he prayed that he would be dead long before he was converted. He suddenly didn't want this to happen and, for the first time in years, Noa found himself crying. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he watched the light in the conversion unit flicker on, the bank of knives and other implements lowering from the ceiling as the metal suit that he was going to become for the rest of his life was revealed as the wall opened. Noa shivered and closed his eyes, unable to scream as the first cuts were made.


	21. Mutt to the Rescue

** Chapter Twenty: Mutt to the Rescue **

_"…everything you've invented you did to fight your sickness. And that's brilliant. That is so human. But once you get rid of sickness and mortality, then what's there to strive for? Eh? The Cybermen won't advance. You'll just stop. You'll stay like this forever. A metal Earth with metal men and metal thoughts. Lacking the one thing that makes this planet so alive. People. Ordinary, stupid, brilliant people!"  
-The Doctor_

Yugi adjusted the EarBuds in his ears one last time before forcing himself to calm down. If he got nervous now then he would give the whole scheme away. He just had to keep control of himself and pretend that he didn't notice what was going on, act brainwashed. Yugi closed his eyes and sighed, shifting behind the crates that they were hiding behind before looking over at Daniel and Solomon, both of them looking as nervous as he felt. Yugi attempted a smile, the expression failing completely so he just shifted his gaze back down to the concrete, hoping that he would be able to do this.

He jumped as a hand landed on his shoulder, spinning around to see Solomon staring at him. Yugi gave an apologetic smile before turning back to his contemplation of the concrete, listening as Solomon settled down beside him. Slowly, he turned to look back at the old man, struck again by how alike they looked. He would be instantly recognizable with his hair not bound back, and the Pharaoh had the perception filter, so it was only a matter of time before the question was asked. He could see it forming the longer he stared at Solomon, bracing himself for the answer that he would have to give. Hopefully, it would ruin nothing in this timeline.

"Why are you doing this?" Solomon and Yugi turned to look at Daniel, the man not bothering to look at him; he was too busy staring at the line of people that was shuffling forward. "You don't have any loyalty to us and you could be safe at home."

"My mother is in there." It wasn't the truth, but it wasn't a lie. He was just as ready to save this version of Junri as he was his own mother; it didn't matter if she had treated him like he was nothing before. This was a parallel world, Junri had different experiences here. Yugi sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I just can't leave her to die in there."

"How do you know that she isn't already one of them?"

Yugi looked up as Daniel spoke, tipping his head to the side. "How do you know Junri isn't?"

Daniel stared at him for a long time before sagging, moving back under complete cover. "Damn it, I was supposed to be forgetting about her. We're getting a divorce because we can't stand each other, so why can't I forget and just leave her?"

"Because you're better than that." Yugi gave him a soft smile. "And because you still love her."

"I'll give you the second one, but I'm not sure about the first."

"I am." Yugi peered around the wooden crates again, spotting a gap in the line coming up. He glanced toward the entrance to the warehouse, all of the Cybermen that were acting as guards were up there, guiding people into specific lines. They were free to make a break for the line in the relative darkness back here. He wished that he had asked the Pharaoh how good their senses were, but he doubted that the Time Lord would know. He had said that their Earth's version of the Cybermen had come from another planet. Yugi sighed before pointing to the break in the line. "We go in there. G-Solomon, stay between us. If something goes wrong, we'll protect you."

"Shouldn't you be in the middle?"

"No. I'm used to stuff like this. I've spent the last year…two years…" Yugi tipped his head to the side, pondering over the length of time before shaking his head. "Anyway, I'm used to running for my life."

"And that's our escape plan?" Daniel stared at him in disbelief. "We just run?"

Yugi shrugged. "Can't hurt to try. Those Cybermen can't move too fast anyway, we might be able to outrun them and hide or regroup."

"It's the best plan we have." Solomon spoke up, nodding to himself. "We don't have weapons and the others are counting on us to get in there. At least one of us could get in that way and we might be able to pull Junri and Yugi's mother out before they are missed."

"The two of you are insane."

Yugi just smiled at the accusation. "No. Just strangely used to this. Ready to go?"

Daniel just nodded, Solomon smiling at him and saluting. "Yes, sir."

He leaned forward, staring at the gap in the line before motioning them forward, all of them slipping into place. Yugi took a deep breath and schooled his features into a blank mask, forcing himself to ignore everything around him. He could only look straight ahead, no looking for exits as he had grown used to doing, keeping limp, but ready to run away if he needed to.

They inched closer to the warehouse, the screams from those being converted audible now, Yugi forcing himself not to flinch, but it was hard. He had no idea how a human being became a Cyberman, but it sounded painful and something that he'd rather not go through ever. He shut his eyes for a moment, calming himself again before inching forward with the line. The Pharaoh was counting on him to get in and Junri was counting on him to save her, there were too many people that he could let down just because he was a coward. Besides, hadn't he told himself that he was no longer the cowardly Yugi of before; he was braver, more confident. He was the Yugi who could kiss the Pharaoh and walk away, the one who wasn't afraid of the talk that would come after.

He kept repeating that to himself as he walked into the warehouse, suddenly aware of the smell of blood that permeated the place, fighting the urge to gag at the smell. What was more frightening were the screams that were coming from the large cylinders that he found himself walking through, Yugi guessing that those were the conversion units where the humans were upgraded. He suppressed a shudder before walking onward, keeping his eyes glued on the back of Daniel's shoulders. Hopefully, none of them would be separated, or else the entire plan would fall through.

Yugi tensed as they were ordered to halt, relaxing a bit when he realized that they were stopped because the lines to the conversion units were filled up, meaning that they would have to wait for a bit. He swallowed before trying to look around as unobtrusively as possible, searching for Junri among the masses. On one of his subtle scans, movement caught his attention, two Cybermen in what looked like a conversation before one of them moved to the front of the line where Daniel stood. It looked at him for a moment before speaking. "You register as Daniel Greene. Confirm?"

There was a pause before Daniel spoke. "Confirm."

"You are the spouse of Junri Mutou. This unit recognizes those memories from before. I was once known as Junri Mutou."

There was a moment of complete stillness after that announcement, Yugi aware that his breathing had sped up. His mother…he had been too late and his mother had already been converted. They had been too late; he hadn't been able to save her. He managed not to take a step backward in shock, but he was sure that the Cyberman had picked up on his heart rate, that fact not mattering when Daniel tried to lunge forward. "No!"

The Cyberman stepped backwards, Daniel falling onto the floor only to be picked up by Solomon. Yugi rushed to stand in front of the two, not really knowing what he could do to protect them. If worse came to worse, he could always use the strange power that had been given to him by the time vortex, but he was sure that it would just kill him. He bit his lip, glancing down at Solomon and Daniel before looking up again, jumping when he saw that the Cyberman had moved close again. "You will be brought to the Cyber Leader. The rogue elements will be contained."

He held his hands up in a sign of surrender, backing up as a few of the Cybermen formed an escort for them, leading them away from the lines and the converters. Yugi glanced over at Solomon and Daniel, surprised to see that both of them were crying silently before chiding himself. They had known this Junri as he never would have. Suddenly, he was thankful that she had talked down to him, or else he would have been mourning her like that too. And he felt that he needed his wits for this. Hopefully, the Pharaoh had done better on his own.

They were escorted through a series of winding hallways, Yugi quickly losing his bearings as it all looked the same. For a moment, he wondered if the warehouse was actually bigger on the inside when they reached their destination, the dull grey of the concrete not stopping as they walked into what he assumed was the control room. He glanced around before they were shoved toward the computers, wondering why two Cybermen were acting as a guard for a section of wall before he fell against the computers, staring at the screen in front of him before pushing away.

"Rogue elements contained."

"New life form entering the control room." Yugi turned at that, his eyes widening as he saw the Pharaoh walk into the control room, two Cybermen flanking him. The Time Lord glanced over at Yugi before walking down to the computers, almost absently glancing over them before turning towards the Cybermen. The metal men situated themselves around the room, Yugi watching them move, shivering when one spoke. "The rogue elements will be destroyed and the new life form studied. Upgrades will be made."

"And do I have a choice in this?" The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow.

"All rogue elements will be destroyed."

"I got that much." The Pharaoh leaned back before walking around the bank of computers to lean against the back of it, turning his head to smile at Yugi. Yugi smiled back, managing to walk slowly over to the Pharaoh before leaning against him, the Time Lord smiling and wrapping an arm around Yugi's waist for comfort.

"What happens now?"

The Pharaoh jerked his head toward the camera in the room. "It would make sense that Noa would want to watch over his scientists from his zeppelin. So, we wait for Joey and Mai, keep that phone handy."

Yugi nodded, reaching up to take out his EarBuds before dropping them to the floor, shivering under the glares of the Cybermen. "What do we do until then?"

"Keep watching and waiting." The Pharaoh glanced over the room before staring at the guarded wall. The Time Lord straightened up, the Cybermen all looking at him as he moved. "What's behind that wall? Your leader?"

There was no answer from the metal men, the wall sliding open slowly. Yugi flinched as something slid forward, the mist clearing from the structure to reveal a Cyberman sitting enthroned on a chair of wires, the metal man looking around before focusing on them. Yugi heard Solomon and Daniel gasp, about to ask them what was wrong when the Cyberman spoke. "I am the leader. I created them, I was once designated Noa Kaiba."

"Ah, Noa, the genius." The Pharaoh scowled and shook his head. "I've met others like you and they all go the same way."

"We will rise."

"You will fall."

"Humanity will be upgraded and shown a new era. There will be no war, no sickness, no death. No rogue elements."

The Pharaoh glared at the Cyberman, shaking his head. "Then classify me as one."

"New life forms will be studied."

"This new life form will not.

The Cyberman seemed to consider that before speaking again. "Delete the rogue elements. Their usefulness is at an end."

Yugi moved closer to the Pharaoh as the Cybermen came towards them, looking up as the Pharaoh glared at the Cybermen, pushing Yugi quickly behind him. "You will not harm them."

"They must be deleted."

"I said you will not-" Yugi yelped, the Pharaoh cutting himself off one of the Cybermen grabbed onto Yugi. The Time Lord turned to face the Cyberman, not doing anything more than glaring at the metal man, but Yugi felt the shift in time. He was dropped, his head reeling as his thoughts were dominated by a song, a song that was getting to become very familiar to him. Yugi ducked his head, trying to force the fragment back into a manageable state, only to realize that it wasn't the fragment. He glanced over at the Pharaoh, quickly standing up to catch the Time Lord as he slumped, allowing the Pharaoh to lean against him.

The Time Lord was breathing heavily; Yugi hurrying to get a better supporting grip on him before he looked up at the Cyberman that had tried to kill him, shocked to find that it was completed rusted. He glanced around at the other Cybermen, watching as they kept their distance. Yugi guessed that the move wasn't out of fear but uncertainty. They wouldn't move until they knew what the Pharaoh was full capable of. The Time Lord had just bought them more time.

He smiled and pulled the Pharaoh over to the console, his smile disappearing as he realized how pale the Time Lord was, the Pharaoh trembling as he leaned against the console and his companion, depending on those to support him. Yugi hummed and pushed the blonde bangs away from the Pharaoh's face, the Time Lord's eyes fluttering open. "Yugi?"

"Yes."

"Oh good, I didn't get you."

He slumped, Yugi quickly adjusting to keep him upright. "What did you do?"

"I moved time." The Pharaoh winced, carefully shifting positions. "I sped up about ten thousand years in one spot. Ow."

"You can do that?"

"Once." The Pharaoh grabbed a better hold of the console, leaning heavily against it and closing his eyes again. "Used to…needed few Time Lords…hurts on own."

"Rest."

"No time." The Pharaoh looked up wearily. "Hope, they hurry."

Yugi nodded, rubbing the Pharaoh's back as he looked around. It was up to Joey and Mai now, and he hoped that they would hurry. It was only a matter of time before the Cybemen discovered that the Pharaoh was useless now. He was no match for a Cyberman alone, but he wouldn't let them kill anyone, even if it meant releasing that fragment.

* * *

Joey climbed up the ladder after Mai, keeping his gaze firmly on the wall in front of him. He knew that Mai already hated that the Pharaoh had paired the two of them up together, he wouldn't make it worse with by giving her room to make accusations. But that didn't stop the smile from crossing his face. She was still the same old Mai, still full of fire and spirit, and that was something that he hoped would never change about her. He just wished that she didn't blame him for the death of Jou. It would just be his luck for this Mai to hate him as well as the Mai in his world.

And here he was following her into danger and falling in love with her when he was supposed to be getting over her…Wasn't he? Joey wasn't a big believer in destiny, but he did believe in coincidence and there had to be a reason that he found Mai here and that Mai found herself without a boyfriend. He wasn't going to look that far into it, but he felt that the universe was finally smiling on him, a thought that made him smile.

He glanced up, quickly stopping before he ran into Mai as the woman peered over the edge of the warehouse. She glanced down at him before sighing and waving him up, the two of them rushing to hide behind some crates, watching the two humans that were guarding the zeppelin. Joey frowned at that, wondering why some humans were left instead of being converted, but he was willing to assume that Noa had left them be just for the time being. But now was a golden opportunity to get in, Cybermen would be harder to beat.

He was about to begin his attack when he was roughly pulled back, Mai glaring at him before nearly throwing him back against the crates. "Let's get a few things straight, alright? One, I'm the leader of this little expedition, you just follow. Jou would have known what to do, but you don't. Two, you may be good at tech stuff, but you haven't proven yourself to me. As far as I'm concerned, you're an idiot. Three-"

"Fine, whatever." Joey pushed her away to stand up straightening up his t-shirt before looking around the crate again. He wanted to yell at the woman but forced himself to keep his voice low. "But remember this, you may think I'm just an idiot, but I've proven myself enough to know that it only matters what I think. I'm not just some stupid mutt to be pushed around by anybody and to accept it. And, just to make it clear, my best friend is in that building, counting on us. I wouldn't be able to look at his mother if I came back and said that I allowed him to die because some woman told me to shut up. We work together on this, Mai."

She stared at him in shock, Joey not caring as he smiled to himself. That had been a long time in coming, although, he had mentally prepared a speech like that for his mother or the old version of the Pharaoh, whichever of the two that he had met again first, not Mai. But it had worked in this situation, and he was sincere about what he said, he wasn't going to be shoved to the side while Yugi was in danger, they needed each other because the Pharaoh was sometimes completely useless.

Without another glance at Mai he began to work his way around the rooftop, moving from cover to cover, keeping his eye on the guards. He was pleasantly surprised when he saw that Mai was following after him, smiling to himself as he ducked behind the last crate between him and the guards. It was going to be impossible to sneak up and just jump into the zeppelin, so they would have to knock the guards out. Joey heaved a sigh before looking back at Mai. "We're knocking them out."

"Are you crazy?"

"No, but they're still humans." Joey shook his head and edged forward, stopping when Mai caught his sleeve. He raised an eyebrow before crouching on the ground again. "They might not be on our side, but they're still humans. I've spent too much time with the Pharaoh if I'm thinking like that, but it's true."

"I know but…but…"

"Just hit them hard on the back of the head and run up the ramp. Or is that too complicated?" His comment got a smile out of her, the first real smile he had seen from her for a while. She nodded before letting go of his sleeve, the two of them creeping through the shadows until they could each circle around to a guard. Joey gave Mai a short nod before dashing forward; slamming into his guard before throwing him to the ground, wincing at the sound that the man's head made when it hit the ground, but the guard was unconscious and not dead. He glanced over at Mai to see her finishing off her guard with a move that seemed to come out of a martial arts movie.

She noticed his gaze and flipped her hair over her shoulder, sauntering past him and up the ramp. "It's all about the style, Joey."

"Really?" He smirked, following her up the ramp. "I got mine down and out pretty quickly."

"Sure, but that was what any alley brawler could do."

"I'm good with computers."

Mai raised an eyebrow. "Are you now? Stick around, Joey, I'll show you a thing or two."

She ducked into another hallway, Joey standing dumbstruck. He shook himself, forcing himself to follow her. "I think I might, Mai."

They snuck through the hallways, Joey trusting Mai to lead him to the flight deck of the zeppelin. He had only ever seen how airplanes worked, more interested in those than the zeppelins that seemed to move too slowly. In the meantime, he paid close attention to the corridors that they walked down, staring slack-jawed at the opulence of the place. He had known the Kaibas were a rich family while they were all alive, but rich enough to afford a wood paneled zeppelin? And he was sure that some of the artworks that he saw were originals and not copies. He wouldn't put it past the Kaibas to own such a thing. He shook his head in wonder, holding back a whistle; any sound could alert more guards, if there were any.

Joey nearly ran into Mai as she came to a stop, about to ask her what was wrong when he found her staring at a metal suit. He froze for a moment, his hand reaching out to grab her arm, but finding himself unable to pull her away. They stared transfixed at the suit, Joey slowly relaxing the long it remained still. He finally sighed with relief, moving past Mai to stare at the suit.

While he couldn't tell if it was active or just a display, it was enough that it wasn't moving. If they worked fast enough, they could be out of here before it became active. He looked away from the metal suit staring at the flight deck of the zeppelin, quickly identifying a computer and a locked case. He hummed to himself before walking over to the case, Mai following him more slowly. He traced over the box, sighing when he realized what it was. "This is the signal."

"Damn it, we need to get in there." Joey nodded, watching as Mai messed when the box, leaning back against the counter. He found his gaze drawn to the Cyberman on display, his stomach twisting as he realized it was looking directly at them. But, before it had been looking directly at the door. He glanced towards the alcove it was in, noticing the blinking red light; the light not having been on earlier either. Joey frowned and tipped his head back, staring at the motion detector right about the signal box, sighing.

"Mai, we need to move."

She glanced over at him. "Why?"

"Delete. Delete." Mai screamed, spinning around and staring at the Cyberman as it advanced. Joey ducked to the side, hoping that it would come after him instead of Mai; but Mai was closer, and she had been the one threatening the signal box. Joey turned around, stumbling and nearly falling with the move. And Mai still hadn't moved, although her screaming had stopped. Instead of looking scared, she looked resolute. Joey was about to call out to her when she turned and smiled at him, glancing back at the Cyberman before ducking out of the way.

The Cyberman punched the air where Mai had been, its fist crashing through the glass and steel that surrounded the signal box and right into the box itself. The metal creature jerked to a stop, electricity running through it until it finally fell backwards, Joey staring at it until he was sure it was dead. Then he glanced up at Mai, surprised to find the woman fixing her hair with a smile. She shrugged when she felt his gaze on her. "It wasn't the best plan but it worked."

"Now we find Yug'." Joey lunged for the computer, working through the systems before Mai gently nudged him aside.

"You're doing it the long way." With a few keystrokes they were looking at the security footage for the building. Joey stared at Mai in awe, the woman winking at him. "Stick around, you might learn something. Alright…Yugi then…"

They scrolled through scenes of the mass exodus of the people as they fled the warehouse, shoving the Cybermen out of the way as they ran. Joey smiled at that, glad that they had managed to save some people. He returned his focus to looking for Yugi, pointing and calling out as Mai hit the camera that they needed. He frowned when there was nothing. "Audio?"

"Working on it…there." Mai grinned and stepped back, the audio coming from the speakers hidden around the flight deck.

"New life form analyzed. Danger neutralized."

"You…underestimate me." Joey frowned, watching as the Pharaoh seemed to haul himself upright painfully, Yugi holding onto him.

The Cyberman ignored the statement. "Prepare for upgr-" The Cyberman paused. "Alert. Alert, Signal dead."

"Good, I was afraid that the mutt had gotten sidetracked."

Joey growled at the old name, ignoring Mai's confused look. "I am not a mutt!"

"But the best thing about this dog of mine, it retrieves." Joey's eyes widened as he stared at the screen, watching as the Pharaoh pushed away from Yugi and the console, walking unsteadily towards the Cyberman in the chair, the one that Joey assumed was the leader. Joey's gaze followed the moving Time Lord, listening to the nonsense that the Pharaoh was speaking, flinching as the Time Lord nearly fell over once, only to catch himself at the last minute. He sighed, looking over to see how Yugi was taking this only to see his friend carefully sliding something back into his pocket, Joey staring at the screen in confusion until his phone vibrated in his pocket.

He jumped and dug it out, staring at the screen. "Text message?" He flipped the phone open, his eyes widening at the message there before looking up at Mai. "Can you find the override codes?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"They need them."

"On it." Mai turned back to the keyboard, working quickly while throwing glances up at the computer screen where the security footage was playing. Joey glanced back at the screen, watching as Yugi rushed forward to grab the Pharaoh, helping the Time Lord stay up. The two retreated, the Cybermen seeming to be on edge. His grip tightened on the cell phone in his hand, hoping that they would be able to find the code in time. He didn't want to watch as his best friend was killed.

He was at the point of pacing when Mai gave a cheer, the woman smiling at him before stepping back. "Text this to Yugi; 100224225."

Joey was already imputing the numbers, hitting the send button as soon as he was done, glancing back up at the screen. "Now we wait. I hate waiting."

On the screen, Yugi reached into his pocket again, bringing out his cell phone. He stared at it for a moment before smiling and tossing the phone to Daniel. The man caught it and immediately began working on the computer. The Cybermen began to move forward, their leader straining to rise from his chair. Daniel glanced over his shoulder before pushing back from the computer, hitting the enter button as he spun away. The Cybermen that were reaching for him paused in the middle of that motion, shuddering before standing upright.

"Pharaoh? Pharaoh, what did you do?" Yugi's voice came over the speakers, Joey noticing that the Pharaoh was staring at the ground.

"It turns off the emotional inhibitor, they know what they are now. And it will kill them."

"No!" The four in the room jumped as the Cyberman on the chair slowly because to stand, wires snapping under the pressure. "We are beyond emotions, beyond death."

The Pharaoh glared at him before ushering the others out, the group disappearing from the security footage. Joey gave a short cheer, the sound stopping when one of the Cybermen twitched violently, holding its head and making a horrible keening sound. It stumbled over to the computers before slamming down on them, sparks flying before an alarm started to sound. He heard Mai curse before she rushed over to the main controls, typing in commands. Joey stared at her before walking over. "What are you doing?"

"We need to get out of here."

"Is the place going to self destruct?"

"No. But all the safeties holding the flammable chemicals are going to release. And with the Cybermen sparking, they might as well self destruct."

Joey stared at her in horror. "We can't leave the others!"

"They tell them to hurry up. We'll let down a ladder because I want to be ready to clear this mess." Joey nodded; turning away to dial Yugi's number, impatiently pacing up and down as he waited for his friend to pick up.

It took a moment, Joey pausing when he heard the sounds of heavy breathing before Yugi finally spoke. "Why do people always call me when I'm running?"

"Sorry."

"Where do I have to be and how much time?"

"Uh…" Joey wasn't ready for Yugi's flippant attitude towards the situation, figuring that there was a story behind it. He would have to ask about it later. "Just get to the roof. Mai says stuff is going to start to burn quickly. We have an escape for you."

"Thanks, Joey." Yugi hung up, Joey shaking his head before shutting his phone and turning to watch Mai. A strange idea hit him then, Joey frowning and looking away again.

Technically, it wasn't his fault that Jou had died, the man had been too slow, it was one of those freak accidents. But that still left Serenity without a brother and Mai without a support; he didn't know what the two had been to each other. Any way he looked at it, he still felt responsible for what had happened; he felt that he needed to stay. But he had his own family back home, his mother and sister, neither of which ever wanted to see him again; the same went for his world's version of Mai. Except for Junri, he was essentially homeless. Joey bit his lip and kicked at the floor, his hand tightening around his cell phone. He could stay; this was the chance that he had been waiting for, the opportunity. But would he take it?

"Joey, type in the commands as I say them." He glanced over at Mai before shoving his phone into his pocket, following her orders as they worked to get the zeppelin into the sky. He tried to focus only on the keyboard in front of him, but the same circle of thoughts kept intruding. And, in the end, he already knew his decision. Mai's team had lost a valuable member and they were the only ones who knew about the Cybermen. He would stay, even though it pained him to leave his real sister behind, but the Serenity here needed him now, and he couldn't just leave her. Even Mai needed him, and that was enough to convince him to remain behind.


	22. Coming Home

** Chapter Twenty-One: Coming Home **

_"I know it's not easy with my face looking exactly like Ricky. But I'm a different man. I'm not replacing him. But we can remember him by fighting in his name."  
-Mickey Smith_

Yugi got a better grip on the Pharaoh's waist, supporting the Time Lord as they ran through the corridors of the warehouse, always heading up. He tried to ignore the trails of flames on the floor where chemicals had spilled as well as the malfunctioning Cybermen along the way. But he couldn't get their screaming out of his head. Yugi flinched before forcing himself to keep moving, raising his eyes to see where Solomon and Daniel were ahead of him. He reached up to adjust the Pharaoh's arm, which was slung over his shoulder. "Getting there."

He got a nod from the Time Lord, the Pharaoh trying to recover from his manual shifting of time. While he was better than before, it still worried Yugi; but at least the Pharaoh was trying to stand on his own now instead of leaning against Yugi. He bit his lip and turned his head slightly so it would rest on the Pharaoh's shoulder, feeling the Time Lord sigh.

"Over here!" Solomon waved from the base of a ladder, Yugi perking up and guiding the Pharaoh over. Daniel was already at the door to the top, opening it a bit before nodding to show it was clear. The last few doors they had checked had been filled with malfunctioning Cybermen, Yugi lowering his eyes at the memory. At least they were putting the poor people out of their misery instead of letting them live on like that, but there should have been another way. He sighed and steadied the Pharaoh against the railing of the stairs, letting the Time Lord go. The Pharaoh followed after Solomon, moving slowly up the stairs, but at least he was no longer in pain. Yugi smiled before starting his own ascent.

"Yugi!" He leapt back a few stairs as flames flared up, getting a glimpse of the Time Lord turning around in an attempt to reach him. Yugi stumbled backwards, nearly falling down the stairs before he caught himself, steadying himself on the railings before rushing up the stairs again when the flames burned low. He wasn't going to be separated from the group this time; He jumped awkwardly over a broken stair before scrambling up through the door.

He flung an arm up to cover his eyes as the lights from the zeppelin focused on the roof, squinting to make out the dim shapes of crates that littered the roof. Yugi shook his head before breaking into a run, seeing the three other figures racing for the rope ladder. Solomon was the first up, Daniel holding the bottom steady as the old man began to climb. Yugi tipped his head back to see the opening when the ladder came from; spotting a figure that he guessed was Joey waving them on.

The Pharaoh was the next up, the Time Lord turning around to watch for Yugi, smiling and holding out his hand as Yugi rushed up to the rope ladder, scrambling up after the Pharaoh. He yelped and grabbed a better hold as Daniel started up, clinging to the rope ladder before daring to move again. He didn't want to look down to see how far he would fall, he was already sure that it was a long way down. Looking down would only slow him down anyway and he wanted to get the zeppelin as soon as possible.

The rope ladder sagged and twisted, Yugi almost losing his grip before he glanced down at what was dragging them down, his eyes widening. The Cyber Leader, once the human Noa Kaiba, was slowly climbing the rope towards them. Yugi was sure that he cursed at the sight, not remembering what he had said in his shock. He had thought that all of the Cybermen were suffering with the reality of what they had become. But, apparently Noa wasn't, probably because he knew what he had become long before the metal suit was on him. Yugi shivered, looking up when something touched his shoulder. "Pass it on!"

He took the sonic, glancing down to where Daniel was before reaching down to tap the man on the shoulder. Daniel looked up at him in surprise before Yugi passed the sonic down. Daniel took it reluctantly, Yugi getting a better hold on the rope as the Pharaoh shouted down, "Press it against the rope."

Daniel nodded, holding the sonic against the rope as he pressed the button. Yugi watched fearfully as the rope glowed blue before beginning to fray, the process seeming too slow as the Cyber Leader climbed up towards them. One side of the rope snapped, Daniel quickly switching hands as he secured a better hold, the sonic against the other rope now, Yugi watched as the other rope frayed, Daniel glancing down at the Cyber Leader. "This is for Junri!"

The rope snapped, Yugi turning his head away as the Cyber Leader fell back to the warehouse, flinching at the sound of metal hitting concrete. He felt heat on his back as some of the chemicals within the warehouse mixed, causing an explosion, taking a shaky breath before beginning to climb again, going very slowly as the rope swayed in the wind. He felt like it took forever for him to climb up into the actual zeppelin, Yugi collapsing onto the floor as soon as he was hauled up.

He was carefully rolled over, smiling up at the Pharaoh. "Hello."

"Hey." The Time Lord smiled softly before reaching out to take his hand, Yugi entwining their fingers, not bothering to move from the floor. He did turn his head when Daniel scrambled up, Joey quickly hauling it what was left of the rope ladder after that.

Mai turned around from her place at the wheel, smiling at all of them. "We'll be making a stop back at the Mutou mansion."

There were no disagreements, Yugi tipping his head back to watch as everyone collapsed onto the floor, the Pharaoh the only one to carefully sit down. Yugi shifted closer to him, still not letting go of his hand. "So…parallel universe with strange doubles is done. What's next on the list?"

The joke got a little laugh out of the Pharaoh, Yugi shaking his head before resettling himself, absently stroking his thumb across the back of the Pharaoh's hand. He stared up at the ceiling of the zeppelin, feeling the floor under him tip slightly as Mai banked the ship. Yugi sighed, glancing over at the Pharaoh before rolling over to his side. "We found a parallel Joey and the ingredients for an alternate me. What about you?"

The Pharaoh went silent for a while, staring at him before shaking his head. "You won't find another version of me. You might find a human that looks like me, but not me." The Pharaoh shook his head and leaned back. "Gallifrey was a strange planet, it only existed in one universe and the native people only existed in one universe. With a TARDIS and a few Time Lords you could move through the Void easily, but that was the only way we would exist in another dimension."

"Why?"

The Pharaoh shrugged and then laughed. "It was something to do with our abilities in relation to time. I honestly never paid much attention to that in the Academy. It was too busy daydreaming about different worlds and fantastic places."

Yugi gave him a smile before sitting up, glancing out the window of the zeppelin, staring at the city below them. He carefully got to his feet to stare down at Domino, a smile crossing his face. He heard the Pharaoh get up behind him, not bothering to turn around and look at the Time Lord. "It doesn't quite feel like home anymore."

"It's not your Domino."

"I know, but even my Domino doesn't feel like home anymore. That's the TARDIS."

"I told you that you could stay as long as you wanted."

Yugi chuckled and turned around. "I might just take you up on that." He looked down at the ground, a blush spreading across his face. "W-we should probably talk."

"About?"

Yugi looked around to be sure that they were alone, clearing his throat. "You know how I said that I wanted us to remain friends back at Christmas?"

"Yes."

"I-I don't want that anymore." Yugi shivered before looking up at the Pharaoh, surprised that the Time Lord wasn't acting shocked. "I understand now that you're two separate personalities but the same person. I understand that I still love the old you, but it won't be bad to love this you. I just…I…"

He was cut off as the Pharaoh leaned over, gently taking his chin and directing him to face the Time Lord. Yugi blinked in surprise, the Pharaoh leaning forward the last few inches to kiss Yugi. A tingle ran down his spine as the Time Lord kissed him, the singing in his head growing louder for a moment, but the fragment didn't activate, Yugi relaxing at that.

All too soon for his tastes, the Pharaoh broke their chaste kiss, brushing Yugi's bangs away from his face. The human licked hi lips, trying to get his heartbeat to settle down. "I'm taking that as you're interested too?"

"Very." Yugi shivered at the Pharaoh's husky tone of voice, shivering as the Time Lord leaned forward to rest his forehead against Yugi's, offering the human a smile a moment later. "But only if you are sure."

Yugi shook his head. "I'm sure. Just, keep going slow, alright?"

"Alright." The Pharaoh smiled, Yugi unable to resist leaning up to kiss the Pharaoh again, surprised at how right it felt to do that. He pulled back with a smile on his face, the Time Lord giving him a quick hug before wandering off to check with Mai, leaving Yugi to turn and stare down at the lights of Domino.

He was pitched forward suddenly as Joey ambled over, turning to give his friend a glare before looking back over the city, Joey leaning on the wall next to him. "You're all smiles. Did something good happen?"

"Yeah."

"Ah." Joey nodded sagely, Yugi giving him a strange look before deciding to ignore Joey's strange behavior. He was nudged again, Yugi rolling his eyes at Joey's juvenile antics before turning around to look at his friend. The blonde raised an eyebrow before nodding towards the Pharaoh, Yugi following the motion, watching as the Time Lord talked with Mai. "So all that flirting paid off."

"Flirting?" Yugi realized that he sounded slightly appalled, more surprised than appalled. He knew that sometimes the conversations that he and the Pharaoh had could be considered flirting, but he never too thought too much on it because it was just them. He had thought that they were being subtle about it, Yugi discounting his mother's comments on it because his mother knew him better than most people. Apparently, they hadn't been as subtle as he thought.

Yugi ducked his head and blushed, Joey laughing and slinging an arm around his shoulders. "Don't worry about it Yug', I don't think anyone would care if you came out, except Miho. But she can't talk; she's living in the big city with her new boyfriend. She keeps sending me disgustingly cute pictures of them, so she's fine."

"Came out?" Yugi shook his head with a laugh. "Joey, I just like him."

"Yugi…" Joey looked around before lowering his voice to a whisper. "I don't know if you've noticed this but, the Pharaoh is a guy."

"I know that." Yugi struggled to get Joey's arm from around his shoulders, finally giving in with a sigh and staring at Joey. "And your point?"

"It's just that…you're bi."

Yugi stared at him for a long while before shaking his head with a sigh. "I don't know and I'm not actually thinking about it like that! I just like him, alright? I'm not going to let something like that worry me."

"You're a strange one, Yugi." Joey chuckled as he spoke, pulling his arm from around Yugi's shoulders before ruffling his hair, Yugi flailing in an attempt to knock the offending hand away. "But that's what I like about you."

"Joey…"

"Hey, stop messing with my companion." Yugi looked up to see the Pharaoh giving Joey a mock glare, the Time Lord stumbling to the side as Mai pushed him out of her way, the woman smirking.

"Whoops, didn't see you there. Hey, Joey, need you up here."

"Aye, aye, Captain."

"Captain…I like that." Mai smiled before making room for Joey, Yugi laughing as the two of them started to work, almost immediately getting into a rapid fire discussion. It was amazing how some things never changed. In their old world, Joey and Mai were always discussing something, the people that didn't know them well seeing them just arguing and wondering how such a relationship could even work out. But Joey never looked happier than when he was in a discussion with Mai.

He sighed and leaned back against the wall, the Pharaoh walking over to him. The two shared a smile before Yugi returned to watching the others in the zeppelin, aware that the Pharaoh's arm had wrapped around his waist. If it weren't for the large death toll, this would have been the perfect ending to their adventure, Yugi wishing for another day where everyone lived. He shook his head, turning to look up at the Time Lord. "Is it charged?"

The Pharaoh reached into his pocket, bringing out the crystal a moment later, Yugi smiling as he saw that it held a steady teal glow. He hesitantly reached out to touch it, the fragment in his head giving another snippet of a melody before Yugi pulled away. "So, whatever you did with the Cybermen back at the mansion didn't hurt it."

"No." The Pharaoh slipped the crystal back into his pocket, glancing up as Joey's voice came over the speakers.

"We are beginning our decent pattern onto our destination at Mutou manner. We hoped you enjoyed your flight. If there are any complaints, blame the captain. Ow, Mai!" The blonde ducked Mai's punch, dropping the intercom device and scurrying away. Yugi heard Mai laugh before she concentrated on landing the zeppelin, the huge airship settling down on the lawn behind the mansion.

It took a moment to figure out how to disengage the ramp, Mai and Joey hurrying out to tie the zeppelin down before any of them were allowed out. Yugi stepped out onto the well kept lawn and winced at the scenes of destruction, the fragments of glass scattered around the grass. He glanced over at Daniel, the man sighing and shaking his head. "I guess we could get it fixed, or we could sell it…"

"We already have the Kame Game Shop." Solomon shrugged. "We were planning to move in there anyway."

"And the mansion."

"Sell it, give the money to charity." Solomon glanced over at Joey and Mai before gesturing to the two. "We could probably hire these two to search out new deals for us, maybe new store placements. While they're there, they could always make sure all of those Cybermen are under control."

Joey beamed at that, holding up his phone. "I still have that code."

Yugi stared at his friend in shock. "Wait, you're staying?"

Joey nodded before looking away, hesitating for a moment before walking over and drawing Yugi aside. "Listen Yug', I'm not one to believe in destiny or fate, but I think this is my chance. I was getting nowhere back in our world, stuck in a rut because of everything. Here, I can start again. I need this chance, Yug'."

He stared at his oldest friend before forcing himself to nod. He couldn't deny Joey this, not when he had found his own second chance with the Pharaoh. Besides, it would be selfish to ask Joey to remain back in their world for him or even for his mother. Yugi was out in space more than he was home and Junri was an independent woman, able to take care of herself. Joey was his own person and Yugi wasn't in charge of him either. He should have known that Joey's plea to come with them on the TARDIS was just his way of running away from how bad things had gotten at home.

Yugi yelped as he was pulled into a hug. "Take care of yourself, buddy, and don't let the alien boss you around too much. If I do see you again, I want you to be in once piece."

"Alright Joey. Don't let Mai boss you around."

"Are you kidding?" Joey laughed before ruffling his hair and letting him go, glancing over at the Pharaoh. The Time Lord just nodded him on, Joey giving him a sloppy salute before walking over to where Mai was. Yugi watched the two for a while, trying to come up with a reason why Joey should come back with them, eventually giving up. Joey would fit in here fine; it was much better than what was going on back home for him. He nodded to himself before walking back to the Pharaoh, noticing that the Time Lord had gone into the mansion while he was talking and retrieved their clothes. Yugi smiled before bounding over to the Pharaoh, eager to get walking. They had a long way to go before they got to the TARDIS.

"Hold on." He turned as Solomon walked up to him, Yugi flinching as the elderly man looked at his hair before motioning for Daniel. "We'll give you a ride over to where you are going. It'll be faster."

The Pharaoh nodded, following Solomon and Daniel to where the latter had left his car, Yugi surprised that the car was intact. The violence of the Cybermen's entrance into the mansion had Yugi thinking that they had destroyed everything else. He shook his head, slipping into the backseat of the car as Solomon and Daniel clambered into the front. The car started up and moved away from the destroyed mansion, Yugi turning in his seat to get a last glimpse of Joey before flopping back down, ducking his head as he felt tears come to his eyes. He shouldn't be crying, he should be happy for Joey.

Yugi cleared his throat, looking up as Solomon turned partially in his seat. "Where are you headed?"

"By the park, on the edge closest to the city."

Yugi leaned back, resisting the urge to snuggle close to the Pharaoh as Daniel drove them through the city, feeling slightly uneasy. The streets and sidewalks were completely empty, Yugi guessing that people were staying inside after the incident, but it seemed wrong to see Domino lit up at night with no one in sight. He bit his lip and tried to focus on something else, glancing up at Solomon as the elderly man turned to look at him again.

Once again, Solomon looked at him for a long while before his gaze darted up to Yugi's hair. Yugi resisted the urge to cover his hair up, knowing that it was far too late for that. He had inherited the distinctive Mutou hair; there was no way around the conversation that was coming up. Yugi swallowed nervously and looked over at the Pharaoh, the Time Lord giving him a steady stare that Yugi decided to take as an affirmative answer to his unspoken question. The Pharaoh could always stop him if he said too much.

"So…Yugi…"

"Yes."

"Where are we dropping you off?"

"T-the same place." Yugi flinched at the stutter, watching as Solomon's eyebrows rose.

"Really, I thought you had a mother to get back to. You must be worried."

"I am, believe me I am." Yugi shook his head, dropping it into his hands before sighing. He wouldn't last too long with his lie, especially since he was going off with the Pharaoh and they would see it. He gave the Time Lord one last glance before sitting up. "My mother isn't in this world."

"She's dead?"

"No." Yugi shook his head, staring at the ceiling of the car in the hope that it would inspire him, but it remained silent. He would just have to go with the truth and hope that he didn't mess anything up too badly. "I come from a parallel world."

Solomon gave him a strange look, Yugi giving a weak smile at that. "I swear I'm not crazy."

"No, I can see you are not."

"Well," Yugi shifted nervously before forcing himself to go on, "I come from a parallel Domino City. My name is Yugi Mutou."

Daniel slammed on the brakes of the car, Yugi jolting forward and wincing when the seat belt dug into him. He slammed back into his seat as the car came to a stop; rubbing the back of his head and looking up to see Solomon and Daniel staring at him in awe. Yugi glanced over at the Pharaoh who shrugged, obviously giving him full control of the situation. He shivered, surprised when the Pharaoh reached down to hold his hand in the dark of the backseat, taking that small measure of support before speaking again. "My mother is Junri Mutou and we live alone in an apartment in the city. She never married because my father ran off when he heard that she was pregnant, so she moved in with my grandfather, Sugoroku Mutou. But he was killed; a kid hit him accidentally when he was crossing the road. We were forced to move out when we couldn't pay the bills. So, we've just made due."

Silence greeted the end of his story, Yugi shifting nervously under the gaze of Daniel and Solomon, Finally, Daniel moved, turning to the front again and sending the car forward again, Yugi clinging to the seat as Daniel sped through the city, the car reaching the edge of the park in record time. He braked the car hard again, Yugi wincing again, glancing up when Daniel turned off the car. "You, get out and go back to where you belong because it's not here. My son was killed when his mother decided that her figure meant more than a three month old baby."

"But, Dad-" Yugi clamped his hand over his mouth, his eyes wide as he realized what had slipped out. He had been thinking of Daniel as his father this whole time, and he had chosen the worst time to slip up.

Daniel's eyes widened before he gestured toward the door again. "I'm not your father, my son is dead. You don't belong here."

Yugi nodded, suddenly feeling numb. He reached for the handle to the car, slipping out of the vehicle, the Pharaoh getting out from the other side. Yugi glanced up at the Time Lord, the expression on his face enough to have the Pharaoh come over and pull him into a one armed hug. Yugi moved close, suddenly not caring if they were seen like this. "I told you parallel worlds were hard."

"Yeah."

The Pharaoh jerked his head in the direction of the TARDIS. "Ready to go home?"

"More than ready."

The Time Lord nodded and started toward the time machine, Yugi reaching into his shirt and digging out the key to the TARDIS. He stared at it in the dim light for a moment before sighing. It wasn't like he had ever intended to force himself onto the Mutous here, he just wanted to see what life could have been like for him if his father had been there, if his grandfather was still alive. He had just messed it all up. And, suddenly, he wanted to see his mother again to have his world righted again. He tightened his grip on the key, about to walk forward when he heard a shout from the car.

Solomon clambered out of the car, ignoring the shout from Daniel to hurry over to Yugi to hand him something, Yugi staring at the necklace that lay on his palm. He carefully traced over the design of the ankh, glancing up at Solomon again as the elderly man began to back away. "I know it isn't much for me to give, but I think you should have it. A very good friend of mine gave it to me on the day that his son got married."

"Thanks, Solomon."

The elderly man hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "You can call me Grandfather, everyone else does."

Yugi smiled, nodding before quickly putting the necklace on, letting it fall next to the TARDIS key. "Thank you, Grandpa."

He watched as Solomon returned to the car and to the argument that he and Daniel had been having, Yugi hesitating a moment more before running over to the car, quickly digging out his wallet and passing the one picture that he kept of his mother and himself in there, passing it to Solomon. "Keep this."

Before Solomon could say anything, he turned and ran for the TARDIS, pushing open the doors before stumbling into the console room and shutting the doors behind him. Yugi leaned against the wood and smiled, turning around to see that the Pharaoh had the crystal hooked up to the console. The Time Lord turned around, nodding at him before reaching for the lever that would set them off. "Hold on, this will be rough."

Yugi braced himself on the railings of the ramp, nearly falling onto his face as the TARDIS surged forward. He grunted and braced himself, the TARDIS rocking faster than normal as it pushed itself out of the parallel world. Yugi looked up to see the Pharaoh working frantically around the console, nearly throwing himself across a section at one point to hit a button. Yugi lost his balance soon afterward, hitting the ground with one hand still gripping the railing so he wouldn't be thrown about. He adjusted his hold before clinging there with his eyes shut.

After what felt like forever, the rocking steadied out to its normal pattern, Yugi cautiously opening his eyes and looking up at the Pharaoh. He took a breath before pushing himself off the grating and carefully walking up to the console, leaning against it as he looked up at the Pharaoh. The Time Lord glanced at him before continuing to move around the console. "The Void is tricky to navigate through, but she's good now that we're back in our own universe."

"Yeah." Yugi swallowed and looked around. "Can…can I go home for a bit? I just need to see my mom."

The Pharaoh froze for a moment before he looked over at Yugi, giving him a soft smile. "Sure." He moved around the console, resetting whatever coordinates he had originally put it, coming back around to pull Yugi down beside him in the captain's chair. The Pharaoh looked unsure for a moment before taking Yugi's hand in his own. "You don't have to do this to make me feel better."

"I'm not." Yugi smiled and leaned forward to wrap his arms around the Pharaoh's neck, enjoying how close that the chair brought them. He was nearly sitting in the Pharaoh's lap with that move. "This is my choice. My choice would have been easier if you weren't a crazy alien that could change his face."

The Pharaoh hummed, Yugi finding himself hovering just over the Time Lord's lips as the Pharaoh leaned back. "You would rather me be human?"

Yugi shook his head. "Absolutely not."

He closed the distance between them, kissing the Pharaoh. A tingle ran down his spine at the contact, the fragment in his head letting out a few notes of the melody he was beginning to associate with the Pharaoh before falling silent, the Pharaoh pulling Yugi into his lap. Yugi settled down, shivering when the Pharaoh ran a hand over his back. He briefly considered opening his mouth to deepen the kiss, reminding himself that he wanted to take this slow. The Pharaoh seemed to sense his dilemma and tipped his head to the side, somehow managing to make the kiss deeper without even using his tongue. Yugi shuddered, pulling back with a gasp.

He looked back at the Pharaoh, enjoying the look in the Time Lord's eyes, leaning back down to press another kiss to the Time Lord's lips, moaning when he was gently pushed away again. The Pharaoh shifted to press a kiss to his forehead before guiding him off his lap, settling Yugi on the captain's chair before moving around the console chair, Yugi recognizing that they were landing. He sighed and slid off of the chair as the TARDIS landed, walking down the ramp and out into the sunshine.

Yugi turned on the spot, taking in a deep breath and reminding himself that he was in his world, smiling when he felt a hand slip into his. The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow and tilted his head in the direction of Yugi's apartment. "Shall we?"

He turned, nodding. "Yes."

* * *

Daniel looked up from the television as Solomon stood up, reaching for the remote to mute the news. Solomon glanced at him before looking at the coffee table, shrugging before heading for the stairs. "It's been a long day. Good night, Daniel."

"Night Solomon." Daniel watched at the old man made his way up the stairs, waiting until he was sure that Solomon was safe before shutting off the television, rubbing his hands over his eyes before walking into the kitchen. He reached for a glass, filling it with water from the sink before returning to the living room, not quite ready for bed yet. There was too much to think over, like the repercussions of Kaiba Corporation suddenly switching over to a board run company. He knew that they would drop some of their associated companies, which meant that the deal with the Kame Game Shop might fall through.

He ran a hand over his face, reminding himself that he would have to do something about that once the board had settled, probably getting a jump on the rest of them and going in early tomorrow. Daniel flinched at that thought, wondering if the board could even assemble tomorrow. They would have to, for the sake of the public, but the board members were probably just as scared at the rest of the public. He would have to watch to see if they did take a day off before convening. Either way, he would have to go in to make sure they stayed afloat, or find some other big company to ally themselves with. Industrial Illusions was the premiere company in America, he could probably work something out with them. Maybe, if he was really lucky, he could swing a deal with both companies.

Daniel shook his head, taking a sip from his glass of water before deciding to head to bed himself. However he looked at it, it was going to be an early morning for him. That is, if he could sleep at all. He was sure he was going to have nightmares about what had happened today, especially since he knew that Junri hadn't been saved, she had been turned into one of those creatures. He sighed, slumping down on the nearest chair and staring at his glass of water. He would do anything to turn back the clock and save his wife. Maybe they could have talked their problems out instead of ignoring them, maybe it would have worked. But that was too many maybes for him.

A distorted image in the glass caught his eye, Daniel sitting up to see the picture that the man who claimed to be Yugi had given Solomon. He had refused to look at it, still angry over the fact that the man had claimed to be his son from another universe. How stupid did he look? Daniel rolled his eyes, about to sit up and rip the picture to pieces when he remembered how Solomon had stared at it all the way back, only setting it down when Daniel had turned on the news, and even then he had been smiling. There was no reason that Daniel could think of to be smiling today. He couldn't even imagine why Solomon believed that man.

He shook his head and stood up, grabbing the picture off the table before walking upstairs, intending to head to his room. Instead, he found himself walking to the room that he and Junri had set aside when they were planning their marriage, the room that was going to be his son's. Daniel hesitated outside of the door before taking a deep breath and stepping into the room.

It had long since been converted to use as a storeroom, Daniel wanting to hide the evidence of what it had been twenty years before. He walked carefully into the middle of the room, stepping over boxes until he was standing right underneath the skylight. He looked up at the sky, able to pick out a few stars that weren't obscured by the lights of the city, sighing and closing his eyes.

He could remember what this room had looked like before the boxes had lined the walls. It had been painted blue, he remembered that. Junri had said that she just knew that it was a boy, so they had painted the room a light blue. To his left was where the crib would be, white wood against blue walls, something very right about that. The blankets had been decorated with animals, which matched the mobile that they had gotten. The rest of the furniture had been white, placed carefully around the room. They had thought that their son would grow up in this room, that they would later exchange all of the baby gear for the furniture of a growing young man.

And they would have been happy.

Daniel walked forward to one of the boxes, one of the flaps open. He looked around, leaning over to place his glass of water by the floor before opening the flap wider, reaching in to draw out three dust covered objects. The first was a man in a purple robe with a green staff, the hood of his robe coming to a point far above his head; the Dark Magician. Daniel smiled before reaching in to fish out the next one, turning the brown ball of fuzz around until he could see the large, friendly eyes; Kuriboh. The last was stuck, Daniel carefully maneuvering it out, wincing when he heard it tear. He pulled out the light blue dragon, turning it in his hands as he examined the slight rip on one of the legs, suddenly resolving to fix it. He reached out to put the others back into the box, but found that he couldn't.

He gathered them up, walking quickly down the hall to his room, turning to arrange the stuffed toys on his dresser; smiling as he brushed his fingers over them before turning around, only then realizing that he had left his glass of water in the room. Daniel glanced at the stuffed animals before shaking his head, sheepishly smiling at them before walking back towards the store room. He felt silly now that he initial idea had been carried out; just bringing the stuffed animals into his room didn't mean that he would have a closer connection to his son. But it still felt right, even though it didn't offer him any insight to how his son would have been, it offered him comfort, and that was more than enough for him.

Daniel walked back into the room, glancing up at the skylight before reaching down for his glass of water, pausing as he noticed that he had set the picture down as well. For a moment, he felt his anger build again, Daniel quickly shoving it away. He was too tired to deal with the strange people they had taken back to the park tonight; he just wanted to sleep for a while. He picked up the glass and the picture, intending to take them both to his room and figure them out tomorrow when the images in the picture caught his eye. Daniel stopped, shifting a bit so the dim light from skylight would reach the picture.

He immediately recognized Junri, a soft smile crossing his face as the recognized the woman he had been in love with. Her hair was pulled back away from her face in a messy ponytail, her red hair longer than he remembered her ever letting it grow. And she was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, something that he hadn't seen her wear in a long while. Junri was smiling, not at the camera, but at the baby that was lying on the floor on his back. Daniel found himself staring at the baby, taking in everything; the wide purple eyes, the mess of hair that already showed the signs of becoming the Mutou hair, the big smile and the footie pajamas, the pajamas themselves looking worn and well loved. The baby was clutching the Kuriboh plushie to himself, laughing as he was caught in the middle of his play.

He found himself smiling fondly at the picture of family life, feeling his throat clog up. This was what he had missed; this is what he had hoped for when he had come back. Back then, he had just been a scared boy, too afraid to face up to what he had done. But he had come back, that had to count for something. According to this Yugi, his father never came back and he'd only known Junri. Daniel sighed, staring at the picture as he walked back to his room, already close to memorizing it. It was a strange obsession, this small glimpse of the life that he had wanted so far away from his reach, if that Yugi was to be believed.

Suddenly suspicious, Daniel hurried into his room, placing his glass on the bedside table before turning on the lamp there, staring intently at the picture. He searched for any signs that the picture had been faked, the paper it was printed on itself feeling legitimate, and the picture had creases at the corners, the usual signs of long wear from being inside a wallet. Daniel narrowed his eyes, searching over the picture for what seemed like forever before he gave up. He could always call in a favor with one of his friends and have them analyze it, but part of him didn't want to give up the hope that, somewhere, he had a son and a real family.

He set the picture on the table before flopping backward in bed, staring up at the ceiling before shaking his head. "I'm an idiot in whatever world, huh Yugi?" He rolled over to his side, reaching to turn out the lamp, looking at the smiling face of the boy that he could have recognized as his son. "Good night then. And tell your mother that I love her still."

* * *

Junri walked out of the small kitchen after finishing the dishes, surprised to see that the television was still on, the two familiar forms splayed out over the sofa. She walked over; smiling as she saw that Yugi was asleep, snuggled back into the Pharaoh. Junri withheld a chuckle before sitting down on the chair, the movement drawing the attention of the Time Lord. The Pharaoh looked over at her, raising an eyebrow, Junri just shaking her head. "Nothing. I'm just happy to see him. You should bring him back more often."

"Maybe." The Pharaoh looked away from her to stare at the television, Junri not believing that he was actually paying attention to what was going on in the show. She sighed and leaned back in the chair, stretching out her back before relaxing.

"Where did you go to make him sleep like that?"

The Pharaoh stared at her for a long moment before shaking his head, adjusting his hold on Yugi and rolling backwards a bit. "That was…far away."

"Far away?" When he didn't respond, Junri rolled her eyes. "That's just like you, avoid answering my question. Just tell me if it was interesting."

The Time Lord chuckled at that. "Interesting is a word for that." He looked down as Yugi mumbled something in his sleep and flipped over, grabbing a handful of the Pharaoh's shirt before settling down again. He met Junri's gaze before rolling his eyes. "It was interesting enough for Joey to stay."

"He stayed?" Junri tried not to sound too astonished. Joey wasn't her son, but his long friendship with Yugi had made it feel like he was. It was a shock to realize that he had remained behind at wherever they had gone, that she would probably never see him again. She looked down, taking the chance to quickly wipe the tears that had started to develop in her eyes. "Well, will he be alright?"

"I think so; he's got a job and a pretty girl to impress."

"Good for him." Junri nodded and laughed. "He needed to get over Mai."

The Pharaoh looked a little uncomfortable at that before shrugging, adjusting his position again before staring at the television. Junri remained in her seat for a little while longer before standing up, taking the silence as a dismissal. She walked to the small hallway that led to their rooms, pausing with the intent to ask if they would still be here in the morning, but the Pharaoh beat her. "Do you really hate Yugi's father that much?"

Junri stared at him in shock, running the question through her head a couple of times before giving up and leaning on the wall, sighing. The topic itself was strange, but Yugi and the Pharaoh had been acting strange the whole evening. First off, they had arrived without Yugi calling ahead or her bugging him to come back for a short visit. Second, Yugi had done everything with her, only going to the sofa to sit with the Pharaoh when she had finally shooed him away. Third, the Pharaoh hadn't had any of his usual comments about her at the ready, and she had seen him ready to deliver them, cutting himself off before he could. All of that added up to something that was just beyond her grasp, Junri giving up on solving it. Yugi would eventually tell her about what had happened.

"I used to and why wouldn't I? He promised to be there for me, said he was in love with me and then he just ran off. I haven't seen or heard from him since then." Junri shrugged. "I was young, stupid, so in love and hormonal that I did hate him for a while. It wasn't until Yugi was nearly a teenager that I finally got over it. He made a mistake and he's probably regretting it right now. Besides, if he ran off then, who knows when he might have run off again if he had come back? No, I figured that he had been a nice phase in my life and was content with that. I think Yugi forgave him before I did."

"That's Yugi."

Junri nodded, smiling at her son before raising an eyebrow. "Any reason for these questions? Or am I just going to get a cryptic answer."

"I'll let Yugi tell you tomorrow."

"This means you'll be here in the morning?" The Pharaoh nodded, Junri turning to leave before she remembered something that she had been meaning to ask the Pharaoh for a while. She turned and walked back into the room, sitting down on the chair. From the confusion on the Pharaoh's face, she could tell that she had done something unexpected. At least it would give her an edge here. "About you and Yugi, you know I don't mind."

"Mind what?"

Junri stared at him for a while before deciding that he was just being himself, never answering any of her questions straight. "Anything between the two of you, I don't mind. You make him happy, the happiest I've seen him in a long while. Just promise me that you'll take care of him."

The Pharaoh was staring at her in shock, Junri standing up and walking back to her room, a smile crossing her face as she heard him clear his throat. "I will."

She didn't show that she had heard him, allowing the Time Lord to think that she would never hear his moment of weakness. For all his protests that he was different from before, there were still some things that remained the same, like his attachment to Yugi. She smiled at the thought, walking into her bedroom and sitting on the bed, sighing and running a hand through her hair. At least now she knew she couldn't count on biological grandchildren, some part of her doubting if they would even be human. Junri chuckled to herself and shook her head, she had to worry about the strangest things now, and it didn't bother her anymore. She had adjusted to this strange life that she led, and she almost like it more than before. It was nice to know that Yugi was actually living a life instead of trudging through it.

Somehow, she had even managed to improve her own life. She had a steady job now, one that she could almost enjoy and her friends were still there to support her. Of course, they all still made comments about Yugi and his travels, saying that she was just encouraging him to become like his father, but she knew Yugi best. It was alright to escape for a bit before coming back to his life here, if he wanted to come back at all. Junri swallowed, shifting nervously.

That was her one fear. That, when she died, Yugi wouldn't have a tie to Earth anymore. He would just be a human wandering out there among the stars. She was afraid of what that would do to him, part of her not willing to give up her little boy just yet. She took a deep breath, calming herself. The Pharaoh would take care of him; she didn't even need his promise to see that. The alien cared about her son, possibly more than either of them was willing to admit. She would be doing herself a disservice if she didn't at least try to predict the signs of two people falling in love. With her son gone most of the time, she was running out of things to embarrass him with.

Junri let herself fall backwards onto the bed, turning her head in the direction of the living room, knowing that the couch would be pushed up against the wall that she was staring at. She was willing to bet that the Pharaoh would carry Yugi into his room sometime during the night and then he would leave to work on his ship. But she trusted him, if he said that they would stay then they would stay. Which meant that she had to have breakfast ready for them before she went off to work.

"Oh, a mother's job is never done." She chuckled to herself before moving up to lie on the pillows, glancing at the wall before blowing a kiss towards it. "Goodnight sweetheart."

* * *

It had taken them a while to find the van again, walking through the city and rushing from shadow to shadow. Joey heaved a sigh of relief as he leaned against the van, glancing over at Mai and giving her a smile. The blonde woman just rolled her eyes before turning to open the door, peeking into the van before motioning for Joey to open the back doors. He did as she ordered, checking in the back of the van before shutting the doors and running around to the other side and sliding into the front seat. "Everything is there."

She nodded, Joey noticing that her hands tightened on the steering wheel for a moment, Mai frowning before she turned in her seat to stare at him. "Alright, we need a few ground rules."

"Fire away."

"One, you listen to me." Joey raised an eyebrow, Mai staring at him before rolling her eyes. "Fine, we collaborate. Happy?"

"Very."

"Two, we keep what we do on the down low, I don't want anyone else finding out about this."

Joey stared at her before slowly shaking his head. "I've got to tell Serenity, it's not fair to her."

"I wasn't expecting you not to." Mai sighed and reached up to rub her forehead. "Listen, Joey, I want to be sure that all these Cybermen are locked up tight, but after that, I want to be ready for anything else."

Joey smirked and leaned back. "That's simple, identify the large players in the international defense and keep an eye out for strange happenings. Something should happen."

Mai nodded, biting her lip before looking up into the rearview mirror, Joey stiffening as he noticed that she was looking around. But they both knew that no one was out here, not unless Solomon and Daniel were still taking Yugi and the Pharaoh back. Still, Mai was acting like she was expecting something to jump out at her. He was tempted to rest a hand on her arm to steady her, withdrawing as she seemed to get a handle on herself. "While we were trying to figure this thing out, we looked at the different companies under Kaiba Corportation. But some of them we couldn't get into, like a division of the weapon's development."

She leaned forward to point at the imposing tower that Joey recognized from his own time as the Kaiba Corporation Tower. He squinted through the darkness, making sure that it looked the same before turning to look back at Mai. She had sat back in her seat, her hands still on the steering wheel. "We learned that the tower was built just for this division."

"We'll have to look at that next."

"Right." Mai took a deep breath before settling back into her original pattern. "And three, this between us is just a partnership and nothing more. Don't think just because you look like Jou that I will fall for you."

Joey raised his hands in a sign of surrender with a short laugh. "Of course not. I wouldn't do that. What do you take me for, Mai?"

She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't know, Joey, you tell me."

He didn't know how to answer her, staring at her as she turned the keys in the ignition before putting the van into gear, taking a deep breath. "Alright, clean up duties."

"We need to get Honda's body from the warehouse. Let's head over there first to make sure it's locked tight before going to get Jou." Mai nodded in agreement, backing the van out of the place where she had stored it before heading in the direction of the warehouse, Joey watching the city flash by. He glanced over at Mai before allowing himself to smile. This was almost working out exactly as he planned it. He had a way to make money and he had another chance at Mai. Joey tipped his head back, staring at the ceiling of the van. "I've always wanted to see Europe. Do you think they have Cybermen in France?"

Mai looked away from the road long enough to grin at him. "There's only one way to find out."

Joey laughed and nodded. "Let's go liberate France then."

"You…" Mai just laughed, Joey smiling at the sound. If he had it his way, Mai would be laughing more often. She focused on the road ahead for a moment before nodding. "Sure, why not?"

"It'll be like a working vacation. Walking the streets and fighting the bad guys. Not a bad job."

"Nope." They fell into a companionable silence as they drove along, Mai suddenly straightening up and hitting the wheel. Joey looked over at her as she smiled. "I remember who the Tower was built for. It was built for Torchwood."


	23. The Idiot's Lantern

** Chapter Twenty-Two: The Idiot's Lantern **

_"Now, are you sitting comfortably? Good, then we'll begin."  
-The Wire_

Rain pattered against the windows of the small shop, the proprietor of the shop looking up from his books and sighing. The weather matched his mood, dark and gloomy. He shook his head, turning his attention back to his books. If he checked it again, maybe he would be able to see something, some hint of a profit. After all, he was surrounded by the latest technology; everyone would want it, especially with the big event coming up. He scratched the back of his head, looking over the scrawled numbers. He couldn't lower the price; he was already toeing the line there. His competitors would be able to beat him out without a problem if he lowered his price. His shop was barely standing with the price as it was.

The man slumped forward, promising himself that he would just rest his eyes for a few moments before going back to his work. He had been up since before dawn, gathering his things together and trying to promote the sale of his stock, but there was still nothing. Apparently the price was still too high. He sighed, closing his eyes and letting the darkness take him. He was sure it was only for a moment, but he started into wakefulness a moment later, turning to the television set that he had kept on for some background noise.

On the screen a well dressed woman smiled, looking right at him. "And that concludes our broadcast for tonight. Tune in tomorrow for our continued broadcast. Goodnight."

The screen went blank after that, the man sighing and standing up, walking over to the television to switch it off, resting his hands against the polished wood on either side of the small screen. He had thought that these were the next great thing, something even better than the radio and that alone had been hard to convince himself about. He had loved the radio; his childhood had been filled with the background noise of fantastic adventures, things to make him forget about the war that was going on. In the Great War it had been his salvation, in the second War, the most recent one against German, it had been his livelihood. He had worked to dispatch messages from the front with his beloved radio. Selling televisions after that seemed like a betrayal, but he was sure that it was the next biggest thing. It was the radio but with pictures.

He smiled to himself, going back over to his seat at the desk only to slump. The numbers hadn't improved since his little nap, and neither had the weather, the rain still falling outside. If anything, the rain was falling harder now, the man rubbing his temples at the thought. If only he could come up with a gimmick, something to catch the attention of the buyers and encourage them to come to buy. He tapped his pencil against the paper, ignoring the small marks that it made in the margin. He could always call his brother in; his brother was good at this sort of stuff. With their last name they could always work out something.

He tipped his head up to look at the ceiling, struggling to remember a rhyme from his childhood. How did it go again? One for sorrow, two for joy…it sounded right. The man shook his head with a faint smile, well one was sorrowing right here. Maybe it was a sign to call his brother up, maybe interest him with more than the part of the business that he already owned. Besides, moving a bit out of London would do the children good, more friends to play with and better schools. The man smiled, quickly jotting down a note to call his brother in the morning. He wouldn't let this little ship crumble while he still had life left in him.

Suddenly, ideas were flowing, the man pulling out a scrap piece of paper and jotting them down, something sketching rough outlines, most of them of birds. He might as well put his odd last name to use. And then there were ideas to fix up the shop as soon as he had the spare income, it was gloomy enough now, no wonder people didn't want to come in. And he was sure he had some spare paint in the back, the sign and the van needing touch ups, perhaps with his new design. He'd run this all by his brother in the morning to see what he thought of it, his brother was good at guessing the opinion of the public like that.

He was so entranced with his work that he didn't notice a television set flicker on, the well dressed woman of before staring at him from the small screen. She shifted slightly, looking around at the place she had come to with the last lightning strike, finally settling on the working man. He paused as she cleared her throat, looking around in confusion before going back to working on his design. She cleared her throat again, the man turning around in his chair, almost missing her. His eyes went wide as he stared at the black and white picture on the screen, the pencil dropping from his hand to roll along the floor, disappearing under the desk.

The woman gave him a coy smile. "Hello, Mr. Magpie."

"H-how do you know my name?" He turned in his chair, reaching out to turn off the television before drawing his hand back. The programming for the day had ended; he had been woken up by the announcement. This could just be some rerun of a children's show, accidentally turned back on by the lightning striking the tower at Alexandra Palace or the aerial that was above his shop. It was just some kind of malfunction, the repetition of that phrase doing nothing to soothe him. He remembered turning the television off. Aside from the chance that the dial was growing old, impossible since all of the televisions were brand new, there was no way that the television could have turned back on again.

"Don't look so surprised, Magpie. I know many things."

"Many things…" Magpie tried to scoot his chair back, his stomach rolling as he realized that something was going to go wrong. He had a good sense for these things. He glanced around his shop, hoping that he would come up with something to defend himself with, loathe to actually destroy the television itself. He needed it to make a profit off of; he was barely afloat as it was.

"Yes, Magpie. Many things."

He frowned, leaning forward despite his better judgment. "Who are you?"

The woman on the television gave a broad smile, Magpie having a moment to wonder about the expression before the woman spoke. "Why, I am the Wire and I'm hungry."

Purple sparks danced around the screen for a moment before coalescing into jagged lines, pushing out from the screen to reach for him. Magpie didn't have the time to react, not able to move from his slouched position in the chair as the purple lines attached to his face. At first, it just felt like tiny shocks until there was a pull. He choked on a breath of air at that feeling, the shocks getting worse until he could only feel the pull, suddenly unable to see anything in his store, even the screen, just a continuous light. He wasn't even aware that he was screaming, the purple lines tugging at him as the Wire laughed.

* * *

Yugi slung his jacket over one shoulder, staring at his shirt as he pulled it out a little way from himself, shaking his head before letting it drop again. He glanced up at his reflection in the mirror, his gaze straying to the array of clothes that hung up around him. Yugi turned around, forgetting his original intention as he looked around at the sheer number of clothes that were in the wardrobe. He turned in place, tipping his head back to look at them, shaking his head slowly before looking back at his reflection, clearing his throat nervously. "Is this seriously what they wore?"

"Yes. Remember, it was a time when they were coming out of formal apparel." The Pharaoh's answer came from somewhere in the racks of clothes, Yugi glancing off in the direction that his voice came from. As expected, the alien was nowhere in sight, Yugi sighing and glancing at himself in the mirror again, his eyes going to the chain around his neck, the one chain where he had both the ankh that his grandfather had given him and the key to the TARDIS. He reached up to touch the thin chain, shaking his head.

"I just thought it would be something that didn't look so…normal."

"Normal?" He turned around, watching the Time Lord walk towards him. Yugi's mouth fell open in shock as he stared at the Pharaoh. The Time Lord was wearing his usual black leather pants with the two belts, his button down shirt black today and his usual long, black coat hanging over him. What was different were the sunglasses that the Pharaoh had on. The Time Lord raised an eyebrow before tipping the sunglasses to the end of his nose, staring at Yugi. "Since when has anything been normal?"

Yugi was sure that he had a response to that, his conscious thought blown away as he stared at the Pharaoh. The Time Lord smirked, pushing his sunglasses back up onto his face before walking towards the spiral stairs that led down into the main corridors of the TARDIS. "Come on."

He remained frozen in place for a short while more before he ran after the Pharaoh, racing down the spiral staircase and following the Pharaoh down the hall, glancing at the rooms around him. It was strange to be this deep into the TARDIS, the vague explorations he had started on their off days only leading him as far as the gardens and the swimming pool, but that was it. He had never even come close to the staircase that led up to the wardrobe or even the huge stone doors that seemed so out of place on the TARDIS. He shivered as they passed them again, shaking his head and speeding up to catch up with the Pharaoh. "So, why do you have all of those clothes?"

"Nine hundred years of stuff, Yugi. And more than half of it belongs to former companions." The Pharaoh seemed to flinch before collecting himself. "A lot of them left without taking anything, just deciding to take off, so I got their stuff by default."

Yugi squeezed his hand, offering comfort for the things that the Pharaoh hadn't said. He was getting good at figuring out what the Pharaoh was really trying to see, able to read between the lines and pick out the things that the Time Lord wanted to say. That way, the Pharaoh wouldn't have to bring up subjects that obviously still hurt him badly.

They walked into the console room, the Pharaoh pulling him to the door, Yugi shaking his head at the suddenly enthusiasm. The Pharaoh was probably just trying to cover up his moment back in the corridors, but that didn't keep himself from laughing, the Pharaoh holding open the door so he could walk out. "So, we're going to see Elvis, in New York?"

"Yes." The Pharaoh stepped out of the TARDIS, shutting the door before looking around, frowning at the overcast sky. The Time Lord pulled the sunglasses off, staring at the sky before shrugging and storing them on the front of his shirt. He walked over to Yugi, the human looking around with interest at the rows of brick houses around him.

"American in the 1950s, am I right in thinking Grease?"

"Grease?"

Yugi shrugged before nodding. "My mom loved that movie. It entertained me while she cleaned the apartment."

"Somehow, I expected that of her." The Pharaoh dodged his elbow, laughing and leading Yugi through the streets. He looked around; spotting the television antennas that dotted the houses, tipping his head to the side. From all that he had heard, there hadn't been a lot of televisions in the fifties. But, of course, he could just be remembering his history classes wrong. He resisted the urge to hum some of the song that he remembered from Grease, looking around as they walked.

For New York, it was very quiet and overcast, Yugi glancing up at the sky and figuring that there would be a rainstorm soon. He frowned before looking around, stopping in surprise as a big red bus trundled past, Yugi staring at it before getting a better grip on the Pharaoh's hand. "Seriously, New York?"

"Yes." The Pharaoh turned around, looking impatient. "This is New York."

"Then why did I just see a double decker bus…and why do I see the English flag?" Yugi pointed at the flag, the Pharaoh staring at it in surprise. He withheld a chuckle as the Pharaoh continued to stare, shaking his head before continuing to walk down the street. "Looks like you got it wrong again."

"Only the place, but not the date. We are in the fifties." The Pharaoh turned around in a slow circle, humming to himself before glancing at the residential street ahead of them. There weren't a lot of people out, probably because of the impending storm. Yugi glanced up at saw that there were more television aerials on this street, tipping his head to the side before he noticed the large black van parked near one of the houses. What caught his eye was the design, a bird in flight above the name of the company, Yugi distracted by the white patches on the wings before he actually read the name on the truck; Magpie Televisions.

He let go of the Pharaoh's hand and walked forward, a short, plump and balding man coming out of one of the houses. Yugi gave the man a smile, the man taking a moment to look up at him. To his surprise, the man smiled back, walking around to the back of the truck to secure the doors. Then the man rested against his truck, the smile on his face not fading. Yugi walked up to the truck and leaned on another part, turning his head to see the Pharaoh hovering behind him, the Time Lord still looking around. "Hello there?"

The Pharaoh just nodded to that, sighing before looking at the man again. "What year is it?"

The man looked confused, answering anyway. "1953."

Yugi looked up at the Pharaoh, watching the Time Lord think over the date. He couldn't think of anything significant in that year, his interest always more geared towards the ancient civilizations. The Time Lord twitched, Yugi seeing the small movement and taking that as a sign that the Pharaoh was putting together the pieces. "When is the coronation?"

"Tomorrow." The man smiled and gestured at the van. "And I'm doing my patriotic duty by trying to sell these priced as low as possible to give more people the opportunity to see their new queen."

"Really?" Yugi was about to ask more when a car pulled up at one of the residential houses, Yugi turning abruptly as a car raced down the street, coming to a screeching halt in front of one of the houses. He blinked and pushed away from the van, taking a few steps onto the sidewalk as two men got out of the car before rushing into the house. There were sounds of a struggle before the men emerged again, a person walking between them with a white sack over their head. Yugi went to move forward, stopping when he noticed that everyone else was just watching. His gaze drifted across the street to a portly man and his family before snapping back to the car as the hooded person was forced in.

The family began to rush out onto the street, reaching for the car and pleading with the men. They ignored them, backing the car out a bit before turning it abruptly and racing off. Yugi shook his head, turning around when he heard the sound of pounding feet, the Pharaoh already turning the corner. He wasted no time, sprinting after the Time Lord, sure that he was on the trail of the unmarked car.

He took the corner at a fast run, the Pharaoh already an impossible distance ahead of him. Yugi rolled his eyes and forced himself to run faster. If the Pharaoh got the right to complain about him wander off, then he could complain about the Pharaoh's penchant for running towards trouble without any explanation. Yugi shook his head, jumping to one side to awkwardly dodge a telephone booth, nearly falling before he caught himself, settling back into his sprint.

Yugi reached out to grab onto the corner, using it to propel and steady himself. He saw the Pharaoh slowing ahead of him, the Time Lord's black coat billowing out around him. Yugi sighed with relief, slowing down himself and walking the short distance between him and the Time Lord. He glanced up at where the Pharaoh was staring at, his eyes widening at the two wooden doors, there was no sign of the unmarked car. Yugi blinked and turned in a circle. "Where?"

"Exactly." He glanced up at the Pharaoh, the Time Lord narrowing his eyes to stare at the two workers in front of the wooden doors, the men appearing to be farmers. Yugi looked at their cart before shrugging, not sure how to take their appearance here in the middle of a suburban area. The Pharaoh shrugged, putting on his sunglasses again before turning around and starting to walk back, Yugi sparing another glance at the two men before following the alien, looking around at the area around him with interest.

"We're in London." Yugi jumped as the Pharaoh spoke, the Time Lord looking ahead as he walked. "England in the year 1953 and, tomorrow, they crown Queen Elizabeth the second."

"Really?"

The Pharaoh nodded, glancing around at the houses around them. "The nation gathers around their radios and televisions to hear and see the event."

"Wow." Yugi turned around so he was walking backwards, glancing up at the television aerials. "But I thought televisions weren't really that wide spread around this time." The Time Lord just shrugged, Yugi turning around to walk the right way, his gaze moving over the brick houses and the streets. "So, it's going to be one big party tomorrow."

"Block parties as far as the eye can see."

"Can we stay?" Yugi reached out to grab onto the Pharaoh's arm, leaning his head against the Time Lord's shoulder and smiling up at him. He hated the fact that the sunglasses hid the Pharaoh's expression from him, unable to tell if he was pushing something too far or what the Pharaoh's mood was.

The Time Lord just heaved a sigh and nodded. "Might as well, we have to figure out what is going on here."

"That's easy, talk to the people. They should know what's going on, they usually do."

"Domestic approach." The Pharaoh tipped his sunglasses down again, smiling at Yugi. "Good call."

"I've been known to make a few of them." Yugi laughed before letting go of the Pharaoh's arm, relinquishing it in favor of holding the Time Lord's hand, still looking around. His gaze was drawn back up to the overcast sky, frowning. "It might get us out of the rain."

The Pharaoh didn't respond, but he squeezed Yugi's hand to show that he had heard. The human smiled, leaning slightly closer to the Pharaoh. They had spent the morning with his mother, Yugi surprised that the Pharaoh had agreed to something like that, although he was thankful. It was good to have something to eat that wasn't either completely alien or something that he had made himself. It had been the Pharaoh's suggestion to go somewhere for fun, somewhere that he knew there was no trouble, probably just to get him to relax.

Still something bothered him, Yugi staring at the sidewalk as they neared where they had first seen the unmarked car. He still hadn't told his mother about what had really happened on Satellite 5, only the version of events that he had originally thought had happened. She didn't know that he carried the fragment in his head, which was probably for the best since neither the Pharaoh or him actually knew what it was doing to him. They both agreed that it would be best if Yugi tried to keep it dormant, but there would be a chance that it would stop responding to Yugi's efforts. And when that happened, he was dead. Even the Pharaoh had been killed by the time vortex, the fragment pure time energy, not tempered by the TARDIS' will.

Yugi tried not to shiver, knowing that the Pharaoh would catch onto the slight movement. He didn't want the Pharaoh to know how much the thought of the fragment bothered him. He was trying to enjoy their budding relationship, just in case everything went wrong and this was all he was going to get. Yugi bit his lip, glancing to the side to watch the houses on the other side of the road. Out of all the things he had expected out of his life, dying at twenty wasn't one of them.

The Pharaoh walked up to one of the houses; Yugi glanced up at the sky again as the Pharaoh knocked. He remembered to let go of the Pharaoh's hand at the last minute before the door opened, reminding himself that they had to appear as whatever the physic paper showed them as. He smiled as the portly man from before looked at him, seeming to sputter for a moment before the Pharaoh showed him the physic paper, adopting a British accent. "We're from the government, doing a random survey of households while they prepare to celebrate the coronation."

"G-government."

The Pharaoh smiled and took off his sunglasses, stowing them on the front of his shirt again as he continued to talk. "Nothing to worry about, more of an occasion to see how people are decorating and celebrating. Fiddly stuff like that."

As he spoke, the Time Lord walked into the house, the man stepping aside. Yugi scooted in after him, yelping as his collar was grabbed by the man. "You've got a Jap here."

The Pharaoh turned around, Yugi seeing his eyes narrow in anger for a moment before the fake smile was back. "Yes, an old friend from the War. Really good with radios and electric stuff. To be honest, I don't understand half the things he does, but it works."

Yugi was let go, the man apologizing profusely. Yugi just smiled and walked into the living room, taking in the wallpaper and the couch. He nearly tripped over the chair that was tucked away when he glanced at the mantel, looking over the family pictures before he glanced at the television, raising his eyebrows as he moved toward it. He paused as he spotted the two other members of the family in the room. A boy in his late teens was sitting on the couch, reading a book while his mother worked to string up a bunch of flags on the walls. Both of them looked his way, Yugi giving a small wave before moving to the side as the Pharaoh came into the room, the Time Lord nodding.

"Ah, I see decoration is already underway." The Pharaoh gave the woman a smile before turning to look at the pictures on the mantel, Yugi watching as the Pharaoh raised an eyebrow. "You served in the war?"

"I did my bit." The man tried to sound modest, but Yugi could tell he was pleased. "There's nothing better than serving Queen and country."

The Pharaoh hummed in reply, Yugi noticing the downcast gaze of the Time Lord. As quickly as the melancholy set in, it was gone, the Pharaoh turning around to look at the man. "Any other preparations?"

"Well I…" The man stopped before looking nervous. "Actually, I left most of that to my wife, for that woman's touch." He motioned his wife over. "This is my wife, Rita and my son Tommy. And I'm Edward, Edward Connolly."

The Pharaoh shook Edward's extended hand before looking over at Rita, the woman blushing before straightening her skirt. "Well, we're hanging up the flags in here and we'll be having the family over for the coronation itself. But we plan to spend most of our time on the block afterward; it's going to be more decorated than in here."

"Community spirit?"

"That's right." Rita smiled and glanced at her husband. "We even managed to convince Edward to get us a television."

"That's right." Edward puffed himself up, Yugi hiding the roll of his eyes as he went to sit on the couch beside Tommy. "It's one from the store just down the street, one of Magpie's. He's got the best prices around town. Everyone has one of his."

Yugi frowned at that, turning to stare at the television. His gut instinct was telling him that this was wrong; it was too early for the television to be so widespread. And his gut instinct was usually right. Yugi resisted the urge to go over there and examine the set, instead turning to smile at the boy, glancing at the book. "Any good."

"It's a bit slow." Tommy glanced back at his parents, watching them talk with the Pharaoh before turning his attention back to Yugi, his eyes widening for a moment before he shifted nervously.

Yugi waved his hand dismissively. "Don't mind me, I'm safe. But what I really want to know is how are you enjoying your television?"

Tommy carefully put his book aside, obviously thinking hard over the answer. "Well, the sound is good and the pictures…it's more than I could ever hope for but…" Tommy bit his lip, glancing over at his father before lowering his voice. "Strange things have been happening to people around here, all of them with the tellies. And my Gran-"

"So you see, we have everything in order. Ready to serve Queen and country again." Edward let out a great laugh, Yugi glancing at him before looking at Tommy again.

"What happened to your grandmother?" In response, Tommy just glanced upstairs, Yugi following his gaze. He was about to ask what was up there when he felt a hand on his shoulder, surprised when Edward pulled him out of his seat.

"Well, lots to do. Thank you for stopping by. Give a good report, eh?" Another laugh followed the statement, Yugi carefully wiggling out of the hold on him before taking a step back, going to stand beside the Pharaoh.

"Mr. Connolly, are there any other family members in this house?" He was glared at Yugi, swallowing before forcing himself to continue. "It's just that our records show that there are four people and I only see three."

He glanced over at Rita, immediately noticing how she tensed; the lines on her face become more pronounced before she looked away, Yugi glancing up at the Pharaoh. The Time Lord had seen the reaction and had turned his gaze back to Edward. Yugi did the same, finding that the man was slowly turning red with anger. He pointed at Yugi, his finger shaking as he withheld his anger. "That is not the sort of information that you should know or be allowed to see. You may have won his confidence, but not mine. You were beat eight years ago so just accept that. Go tell your emperor that. I will not have you in this house spying on good English citizens!"

"That is enough, Mr. Connolly." The Pharaoh snapped, Edward suddenly coming back to himself. The man shrunk back as the Time Lord advanced, the alien staring him down. "You will find that Yugi has my every confidence and you, sir, will treat him with the respect that he deserves. Are we clear?"

Edward fell silent, staring at the Pharaoh in a mix of awe and fear. The Time Lord nodded, motioning for Yugi to follow him. They were about to walk out of the room and head for the front door when tapping came from the ceiling. Yugi tipped his head back, listening as it fell silent. He could feel the tension in the room, frowning and lowering his head to ask the Pharaoh a question when the tapping started again. The Time Lord glanced over at Rita. "What's up there?"

"My mother. Hold on." She disappeared into the kitchen before coming back with a key, shaking now. "You'll need this to get in. Tommy, help them." Rita sniffed before wiping her eyes. "If you can do anything to help her…please…"

The Pharaoh put a hand on her shoulder, handing Yugi the key. "I'll see what I can do."

Rita muttered a thank you as the Pharaoh moved towards the stairs, Yugi stepping out of the way to allow Tommy to lead them before following. The Time Lord allowed him past, Yugi stepping onto the stairs to look back at Rita and Edward, surprised to see Rita cower before slipping back into her job of decorating, Edward walking out of his line of vision. Yugi frowned, climbing the stairs as he followed Tommy, relaxing when he felt the Pharaoh rest a hand on his shoulder.

The hallway was dark, Tommy not bothering to turn on any lights as they walked, stopping at the first door that was a few steps away from the stairs. Yugi reached forward to hand Tommy the key, the teenager swallowing as he fit the key into the lock. Yugi glanced back at the Pharaoh before shifting to the side, allowing the Pharaoh to stand right behind Tommy. The Time Lord would be the first to enter the room, Yugi resting a hand on Tommy's shoulder and pulling him back with an apologetic smile. The Pharaoh moved forward and turned the key in the lock, pushing the door open and turning on the light.

The first thing that Yugi saw in the room was an elderly woman. She was by the window with her back to them, a cane held in one hand. Yugi relaxed, they had just heard the woman moving around downstairs. He was about to laugh with relief when he watched the elderly woman raise her cane, rapping purposely on the floor, a shiver going up Yugi's spine. He glanced back at Tommy, the teacher clearing his throat and walking forward. "Gran? Gran I brought people who can help."

Yugi scrambled backward as the elderly woman turned around, pressing up against the opposite wall as he stared at her face, or where her face should have been. Instead of the normal features he would expect on a face there was nothing, just skin conforming to the contours of the skull. He shivered, glancing at the Pharaoh as the Time Lord walked in. The Pharaoh pulled out his sonic, quickly running it in front of the elderly woman's face before consulting it, taking a step back and shaking his head. "Brainwaves are low, still there but very low."

"Her face…"

The Pharaoh shook his head. "The brainwaves and the lack of features shouldn't be connected…"

"She wasn't like this, she just began to do…this," Tommy gestured at his grandmother, "after her face disappeared."

Yugi watched the Pharaoh nod to himself, walking cautiously into the room and looking around. To his eye, nothing looked out of place or alien, but Yugi assumed that they could blend in. But he couldn't think of any reason why an alien would want to remove the face of an old woman and affect her brainwaves, it wasn't a usual plot. He walked around to the window, leaning against it and looked out into the darkening street, realizing that it was getting darker earlier because of the threat of the storm. Yugi frowned and rested his forehead against the window, trying to think of anything that could help as the Pharaoh continued the investigation.

His eyes panned the streets before they moved up to stare at the thin outlines of the television aerials, Yugi frowning as he stared at them. He was almost completely sure that they were wrong, but then that would mean that it was something out of place, something that an alien could be using. He blinked, trying to remember what Edward had said, something about the televisions being sold at a low price. By Magpie. Yugi grinned, about to turn around to tell the Pharaoh what he had figured out when he saw a car pull up in front of the house, his eyes widening as he recognized the unmarked car from before. Two men got out and knocked on the door, Yugi turning around the next moment. "Pharaoh."

The Time Lord nodded, turning to look at Tommy. "Where was she when this happened?"

"I…I…" Tommy glanced downstairs, all three of them hearing the heavy tread of the two men. "She was just watching the telly."

The two men walked into the room, glancing at the elderly woman before looking at the Pharaoh. Yugi moved from his place by the window as the Pharaoh moved to stand in front of the old lady. "I won't stand aside until-"

Yugi lunged forward to catch the Pharaoh as the Time Lord was punched, grunting as he grabbed the Pharaoh and set him down on the floor. The two men took their chance to grab the old lady, hauling her out of the room. Yugi gritted his teeth, shaking his head as he was torn between leaving the Pharaoh and staying. He settled on something between the two choices, shaking the Time Lord to try and bring him out of unconsciousness. It took precious seconds, the Pharaoh snapping suddenly awake and scrambling to his feet. Yugi smiled and rushed after him.

He raced down the stairs, slowing when he peeked into the living room. Yugi glanced towards the front door, the Pharaoh already out on the street, probably running after the car. He shook his head, staring at the television as purple light danced around the antennae. After a moment of hesitation, he walked into the living room carefully, glancing back towards the door before rushing over to the television and pulling it a bit away from the wall to look at the back. The purple sparks continued over the television until it disappeared into the wires itself. Yugi stared at it before looking at the name of the maker of the television, smirking when he saw the familiar emblem of Magpie televisions.

"You!" Yugi froze before pushing the television back towards the wall, sighing and standing up. He raised an eyebrow as he saw Edward walking out of the kitchen, wondering where the man had been when the two men had taken the grandmother out. Yugi forced himself to smile, trying not to look threatening; he still had to get out of the house. He edged around the outside of the room, heading for the door as Edward advanced on him. "What are you doing in here? I thought I told you weren't welcome."

Yugi held his hands up. "I'm going, see?"

"And don't come back."

He gave a short bark of laughter, waiting until he was standing by the door to speak again. "Why would I want to come back here?"

Yugi slammed the door behind him, looking around and cursing as he realized that the Pharaoh was far ahead of him. Maybe remaining behind had been a bad idea, except he now had a clue to where the alien was based. He bit his lip before turning to walk in the direction of Magpie's Electronics, hoping that the Pharaoh wouldn't yell at him for this perceived wandering off. He would inform the Time Lord of everything once he found the alien again.

He shivered and wrapped his coat tighter around him, remembering the last time he had been in London. Thankfully, there were no sign of German bombers or barrage balloons, he felt a little bit safer knowing that. Although, Duke wasn't here. Yugi bit his lip and looked up at the sky, trying to imagine Duke out there rebuilding the Earth in the future, probably flirting with all the women. He laughed, the sound strained as something nudged at his memory, Yugi quickly clamping down on the fragment in his head, shaking as it started to activate.

He stumbled into the nearest wall, trying to calm his breathing down. He shook his head, glancing around to see if anyone had witnessed his quick bout of loss of self control. Yugi gave himself a shake before moving on, deciding to stay awake from any thoughts of Duke, apparently that was one of the things that triggered the fragments…or maybe it was just when he tried to remember the events of that day. Yugi rubbed his arms, a smile crossing his face. It only activated when he was trying to remember what happened on Satellite 5 or when he let his emotions get too far out of control. He could manage one of them, the other one he would have to work out.

Yugi glanced up as he passed the store on the corner, backtracking until he was standing in front of the store. He reached for the knob, hesitating when he saw that the store was closed. But Magpie was still in there, Yugi hesitated a moment more before opening the door, flinching as the bell rung. Magpie looked up, glancing nervously towards one of the televisions before looking down at his desk. The man cleared his throat before putting his screwdriver down. "I'm sorry, we're closed."

"I saw. But I need to talk to you."

"Well, I'm closed for the night. Come back tomorrow."

Yugi tipped his head to the side and raising an eyebrow. Magpie shifted nervously, coughing into his sleeve before giving Yugi a long look. Yugi shrugged. "Aren't you closed tomorrow, for the coronation?"

"Oh, yes. It must have slipped my mind."

"You must have a lot on your mind if you forget something like that." Yugi laughed and began walking towards the desk, bending over at one point to examine a television, resisting the urge to run his hand over the smooth wood. "I wouldn't forget something like that, no matter what."

"Well, I have a lot to worry about."

"You must." Yugi gave him a friendly smile, watching as Magpie relaxed, glad for the little advance that he had made. "It takes a lot to run a shop. My grandfather ran one for most of his life; mother said that he was always complaining about people and big name companies taking all of his profit. He said that small stores were the lifeblood of the community."

"That's good." Magpie smiled and laughed, the break only taking a moment before he was back to being nervous. "B-but you really should leave. Right now."

"No." Yugi shook his head, taking a deep breath. "I'm not leaving until I have answers. I've seen what's happening to people around here, people with your televisions in their houses. That seems very suspicious to me."

Magpie shivered before walking to the door. Yugi let him go, watching him as he went to lock the door. He tensed, Magpie ambling back to his desk. The balding man hurried back to his desk, ducking his head. "You brought this upon yourself."

"What?" He turned as one of the televisions flickered on, Yugi staring at the well dressed woman. When she did nothing, he glanced back at Magpie. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, but this was bound to happen." Magpie slumped into his chair, shivering. "Your grandfather was right when he said small stores were the backbone of the community. I can't let this go under." He winced, curling up and clutching his head. "And it hurts, it hurts behind my eyes. She's eating my memories. I-I don't want to be like that."

"Hush, Magpie." The women on the television smiled at the store owner before turning to look at Yugi. "And you, you smell of stardust, of places close to my home. Oh, you would be interesting to talk to, how one of your kind has traveled so far, but you just look too delicious."

"Delicious?" Yugi took a step back, the woman on the television chuckling.

"Of course, why else would you be here? A little bite sized morsel. A midnight snack. And I'm so hungry." The woman nearly screamed out the last word, Yugi stumbling backward as purple lines of lightning moved from the television. They latched onto his face before he could move away, Yugi flinching as they latched onto his skin. For a moment, there was just pain before it began pulling, Yugi snarling and trying to fight back, feeling the fragment in his head flare before it stopped, Yugi gasping at the suddenness. He tried to move, forced to stop as the pull increased to a point where he could no longer think, not even aware that he was speaking.

"Magpie? M-magpie, help me! Help me! Pharaoh!"


	24. Two for Joy

** Chapter Twenty-Three: Two for Joy **

_"But this world of yours is busy, busy, busy. Forging ahead into a brand new age. You can never go back. That's your tragedy. But now… the time is almost ripe, Magpie. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Or lady."  
-The Wire_

The Pharaoh turned the corner, catching the end of the unmarked car as it was driven through the gates, the Time Lord watching as the gates were closed and the men and their cart were position in front of the gates. He slowed, smiling widely. So that was what was behind those gates. The Pharaoh rolled his shoulders before reaching for the sonic screwdriver, keeping a good grip on it before he moved away. He would walk around the enclosure to see where he could get it. He smirked as he quickly came to the wall, skirting close to the shadows as he moved. He needed more time to examine one of those people to come to a full conclusion, only then could he act.

He glanced over his shoulder, groaning as he realized what was missing. Yugi had wandered off again. The Pharaoh hesitated, leaning between the wall and the street before forcing himself to move on. He had to trust Yugi to keep himself safe while he did this. That still didn't keep his hearts from beating quicker as he tried not to imagine all the things that could be happening to is companion. Yugi could take care of himself; the human had proven it many times before; just as he had proven that he had a penchant for getting into dangerous situations. The Pharaoh groaned and leaned against the wall, his hand tightening on the sonic before he forced himself to relax. He would just leave Yugi alone for the few moments it took to gather more information, then he would race back to his companion.

With that plan in mind, he began moving along the wall again, carefully checking for any way in. The Pharaoh smiled as he spotted a small door, crouching down before using the sonic to unlock it. He held the padlock carefully, setting it down to one side so it wouldn't knock against the wood or fall off as he opened the doors. This little trip had to be as quick as possible. He would come back later with Yugi if he had to, but there was no way he was leaving his companion behind for too long.

He slipped into the space, waiting for his eyes to adjust before walking forward. Any light would make them him too noticeable to any guards that would be on duty. He crept through the dark, finding himself creeping along the edge of a large open space. The Pharaoh turned his head, glancing back to the side door before looking back into the main room, pausing as he saw the unmarked car that had been taking the people away. A little beyond that was a metal cage filled with swaying shapes. The Pharaoh hesitated for a moment before cutting across the open space, ducking as he ran alongside the car, heading straight for the cage.

As he got closer he could see that there were people in the cage, smiling at his good luck before bringing the sonic out of his pocket to unlock the cage. The Pharaoh opened the door a fraction, slipping through the small space before looking at the people inside the cage, not surprised to find that they were all faceless. Someone in the neighborhood was informing the two men about the people, but that gave him the chance to examine all of them to see if it was from one cause or separate causes, although the second option was the least likely. A pattern usually meant that there was one cause.

The Pharaoh turned to look towards the main structure that was above him, rolling the sonic screwdriver in his fingers before deciding to risk the short bursts of light that would come from the sonic. If he maneuvered his body correctly, he could block most of the light from the sonic, but only for certain angles. But it was a risk worth taking in the end.

He nodded and turned toward the nearest faceless person, mentally calculating all the possible angles from the main center that he had spotted above him, finally settling on his positioning before scanning the person in front of him. The Pharaoh smiled when he got the same results, moving on the next person. He worked quickly, concentrating completely on his task so he wouldn't miss anything. If there was even one inconsistency within this group, then he would have to search for another cause, and that would take more work. They had already lost an ally with Edward Connolly, but that wasn't too much of a loss.

The Time Lord looked up to check how many more people he had to look over when there was a bright light from behind him, the Pharaoh finding himself pressed against the bars as the people surged closer to the light. He wasn't sure if they could actually see the light, unsure about where the facial features had actually gone, but they would probably feel the warmth from the light or sense the change in their environment. What parts of their brains that were still working had to be compensating for what they had lost.

He looked over at the other side of the cage as one of the two men beat on the bars to draw the people's attention, the other man slipping into the cage. The Pharaoh got a moment to look at the man's face before a sack was slipped over his head, the Time Lord immediately going still. While he wasn't completely disoriented, he could use his other senses to tell where he was, it was obviously a sign that he was being taken prisoner. He cursed himself for not running sooner, then he could have gotten out to Yugi and they could have holed up in the TARDIS for a while.

His was grabbed by the shoulder and shoved from the cage, the Pharaoh stumbling a bit before he righted himself. Even unable to see, he was able to figure out where they were going, the man taking him to the stairs that led up to the upstairs where the Pharaoh assumed the offices were. He carefully went up the stairs, ignoring the impatient mumbling that came from behind him, but they wouldn't push him too hard. They wanted to know what he knew, the fact that they hadn't tried to intimidate him enough. The hood was probably only to keep him disoriented instead of keeping their whereabouts secret.

The stairs ended, the Pharaoh walking along a metal walkway before he was pushed through a door, his shoulder brushing against the frame before he was walked into an office. He was sharply turned once, the Pharaoh assuming that they were making him avoid a desk before he was shoved into a seat, the Pharaoh only having a moment before the hood was taken off. He blinked at the sudden influx of light, shaking his head before focusing on the man before him.

The man was skinny and tall, balding as well. There were lines around his face, more from stress than from laughing and there were bags under his eyes. The Pharaoh's eyes strayed to some writing on the collar of the man's shirt, his name written in a neat hand right on the collar. The Time Lord repressed a smile before sitting back, waiting for the interrogation that he knew was sure to come.

"We saw you around the neighborhood earlier and, if that wasn't enough, you show up here. What are you doing here?"

"The same thing you are, Detective Inspector Bishop." The man jumped at the mention of his name, the Pharaoh waving him back down. "Name is on the collar, badge is on the table. No tricks. And, to answer your question, I want the same thing you do."

"Oh, and what's that?"

The Pharaoh leaned forward, folding his hands before jerking his head in the direction of the cage. "I want to know what is causing that. And I want to fix it."

Detective Inspector Bishop stared at him, the man about to say something when the ringing of the phone interrupted him. Bishop gave the Pharaoh a sidelong glance before reaching to pick up the phone, turning his chair away from the Pharaoh. The Time Lord leaned back, watching the man listen to the phone call, the detective inspector not speaking until the end of the call. "I'll send a man down right away. Thank you."

The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow as Bishop muttered about his informant as he walked to the door to the office, opening it up to shout outside. "Hey Stan, pick up outside of Magpie's. We've got another one!"

He slammed the door shut before walking back to his desk and slumping in his chair, rubbing his eyes. The Time Lord let him have his moment, glancing around the office. He looked back at Bishop as the man straightened. "What was that about you wanting the same thing?"

"What I said, no strings."

"Huh." Bishop laughed before rolling his eyes, sliding down in his chair. "It would be good to have some help around here. With the coronation I have no back up 'sides Stan, but they keep telling me to clean this up quickly. I'm stuck." He threw his hands up into the air. "I can't stop it if I don't know what's causing it."

"Do we have the area?" The Pharaoh looked up as Bishop gestured at a map, the Time Lord standing up to look at it. Red dots marked the houses where they had found the faceless people, the dots centered on one neighborhood. The Pharaoh gave a sigh of relief, at least it was contained to one area, that meant they wouldn't have to cover long distances. It also meant that the source was local as well, which narrowed it down to an area in the neighborhood. The Pharaoh sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Has anything different happened lately?"

"Wrong week to be asking that, bud. People are swarming all over the place to get ready for the coronation; all the normal patterns are off." Bishop ruffled through some of the files on his desk, spreading them out with a sigh. "I've been over these a thousand times. Maybe you can pick up something that I can't."

The Pharaoh walked over and snatched up a folder, flipping it open and beginning to read. Nothing immediately struck him, the Time Lord sighing and flopping back down in the chair on the opposite side of the desk, reaching for the next folder. He allowed himself to get lost in the files, sometimes picking up one that he had read to try and find something, but always coming up with nothing. He finally put the folders down, rubbing his hands over his eyes before slumping back, glancing up at Bishop. The detective inspector didn't seem too surprised. "I told you there was nothing connecting them. Nothing but the snitch who called them in and a flickering television."

"Television?" The Pharaoh sat up slowly, tapping his fingers against the desk as he thought that over. Something was nagging him, calling up the memory of something that Yugi said, his companion's stray comment repeating itself over and over in his head.

"But I thought televisions weren't really that wide spread around this time."

The Pharaoh blinked and straightened up, staring at the mess of red dots. Of course it could just be that simple, so simple that he hadn't even acknowledged its existence. But the pattern might still be there. The Time Lord smiled and pointed at the diagram. "How many of those houses own televisions?"

Detective Inspector Bishop paused for a moment, staring at the map before glancing at the ceiling. The Pharaoh saw the man's lips move as he recited something, resisting the urge to get up and pace. Bishop walked back over to the map, taking the pen and counting the houses, probably double checking his original count before shaking his head. "I can't believe we didn't see it before. The television was the connecting bit. And the latest victim was found in front of Magpie's Electronics, the guy who sells the things."

The Pharaoh looked over the map, a smile crossing his face. "Then our first trip will be to Magpie to see what he has to say about this."

"But the guy is clean!" Bishop shook his head, digging through his desk before pulling out a file, staring at it. He flipped through the papers before letting it fall on the desk, the Pharaoh standing up to lean on the desk and read the papers, listening to Bishop talk. "We questioned him as soon as this started to happen and worked our way down from there. From what we could get from the government, before they cut us off, was that he was a struggling small business owner. He finally bit the bullet and started selling his tellies cheap for the coronation; luckily he got a lot of customers."

"And all the houses on that street have Magpie televisions?"

"Yeah, he's the only seller close." Bishop leaned on the desk, shaking his head. "I can't believe that I didn't see this!"

"Look for subtle changes; they're usually the telling ones."

The Pharaoh glanced up as Bishop laughed. "You sound a bit like Sherlock Holmes."

"Really? I guess Sir Arthur rubbed off on me then." The Pharaoh didn't bother to acknowledge the strange look that the detective inspector shot him before going back to the file, searching for anything that would lead them closer to an answer. The Pharaoh barely looked up as the door to the main space below them slammed, Bishop standing up and walking to the door of the office and opening it. The Pharaoh took the moment to move to stare at the marked map, trying to find a center for the pattern, mentally arranging the oldest known cases and just getting a jumble.

"So, this is the newest victim?"

"Yeah, found him outside in the street, just tipped into the gutter and lying there. He was soaked from the rain too, poor bloke. Couldn't even move to get inside."

The Pharaoh looked up, staring at Bishop as the detective inspector scratched his head. "Well, we have this one working for us now, and he's spotted something interesting. I guess we can just look this one over to make sure it's no different before heading out to talk to Magpie." Bishop looked down at his watch and whistled. "Wow, that early already. What took you, Stan?"

"I wanted to make sure that he was dry, didn't want him catching a cold." Stan looked nervous. "They are people after all. Right, sir?"

"Right." The Pharaoh answered for Bishop, about to motion for Stan to take off the shroud that covered the victim's head when he noticed something. The victim was wearing jeans, modern jeans. The Time Lord froze in place, his eyes staring at the where the face of the victim would be, biting back a scream of denial when the victim was revealed. There was no doubting that tri-colored hair.

Bishop must have noticed his distress, glancing back at the Pharaoh. "Do you know him?"

"Yes." The Pharaoh walked forward, staring at the blank skin that conformed to the contours of Yugi's face, reaching out to touch his companion only to draw his hand back. He couldn't bring himself to touch him, frightened that this would suddenly become real. He should have gone back for Yugi, then this wouldn't have happened. The Pharaoh bit his lip and raised his hand to rest his fingers against Yugi's cheek, the fact that his companion didn't lean into his hand hurting more than it should have.

Then it all became real. Whatever had taken the other people's faces and reduced their brainwaves to nearly nothing had gotten Yugi too. It had taken his eyes, his beautiful purple eyes, and his smile. Yugi wasn't the same without his nearly omnipresent smile. From his readings on the other victims, there would be hardly any Yugi left, just a body continuing to function. His companion was gone and it was the fault of whatever was out there. The Pharaoh dropped his hand from Yugi's face, curling it into a fist. He glanced back over his shoulder, finding it nearly impossible to turn his gaze away from Yugi. "They left him where?"

Stan and Bishop stopped speaking, the Pharaoh suddenly aware that they had been having a quiet conversation while he had been caught up with Yugi. Bishop looked nervous, Stan the one who answered. "On the street, sir."

"They left him on the street." The Pharaoh's eyes narrowed. "They took his face and just left him on the street." He took a deep breath, ignoring how it shook as he exhaled. "That makes things so much simpler. You and I are heading out as soon as I get Yugi settled, detective inspector."

He didn't wait for a response, gently taking Yugi's shoulders and walking him from the room. The Pharaoh swallowed, waiting until he had walked down the stairs and was hidden from the view of Bishop and Stan before pulling Yugi into a hug, holding him close. This was why he had never wanted a relationship, because it hurt, but he couldn't help himself. The Pharaoh shook his head, rocking slightly before pulling away, looking at Yugi before leading him over to the cage.

The Time Lord hesitated as the stared at the bunch of people in the cage, suddening loathe to put Yugi in with the rest of them. But he didn't want to leave Yugi out here; the human could wander off and get himself hurt. The Pharaoh didn't think that he would be able to think about any movement, let alone feel much pain, but he could kill himself before the Pharaoh solved this. The Time Lord sighed before walking him over to the cage, hoping that Yugi would be alright.

He opened the door to the cage, surprised that it wasn't locked. He supposed that Bishop hadn't had time to lock it. The Pharaoh shook his head before guiding Yugi in, supposing that the cage was more of a holding pen than anything, completely enclosed in case the victims could climb out. The Pharaoh sighed and helped Yugi in, surprised to see that the other victims were moving away from them, the Time Lord shaking his head before turning back to Yugi. He hesitated before beginning to speak. "Yugi, stay here for me and don't wander off."

There was no response from Yugi, not that the Pharaoh expected an answer. He sighed, rubbing his thumbs on Yugi's shoulders before shaking his head. "I'll save you, Yugi. I promise. Just hold on for me."

He kissed Yugi's forehead before walking out of the cage, resting his hand on the bars before carefully locking the doors. He forced himself to walk away. Yugi would be fine there; he couldn't help Yugi from here. There was still one thing that needed to be taken care of. The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes before turning on his heel and striding toward the doors, hearing Bishop coming down the stairs. He glanced at the detective inspector before glancing at the cage again.

"We're going for Magpie."

"No." The Pharaoh turned around to look at the detective inspector walked up to him, adjusting his coat over his shoulder. "We're going to the Connolly's first. I want to pick up a person."

"Connolly's?" Bishop pushed open the door, both of them blinking in the light of day. The Pharaoh sighed, glancing around. He had been aware of the time ticking past, a curse of his kind, but it still seemed to be moving too slow. Of course, he blamed that on being away from Yugi when his companion was in danger. The Pharaoh rubbed his forehead, trying to get himself to focus on the problem at hand, and it was surprisingly easy. He glanced at the detective inspector as the man pushed open the doors. "That's the name of the person who's been tipping us off about these people."

"Which one?"

"The father." Bishop laughed and shook his head. "He turned in his own mother-in-law."

The Pharaoh shrugged before walking out into the sunlight, slipping his sunglasses on. "We're getting the son. We might need someone to run for help. Tommy would be willing to help."

Bishop didn't look convinced, staring at the Time Lord before shrugging and walking. "I'll leave that up to you. Personally, I think you're just wasting time."

He shrugged and walked after Bishop, glancing up to look at the television aerials through the tint of his sunglasses. Yugi had been right; there were too many aerials around for this age, too densely populated. The Pharaoh ducked his head; he should have listened to his companion. He heaved a long sigh, looking up as they passed Magpie's shop, where Yugi had been found on the street. The Pharaoh felt his anger rise again before forcing it down, he had to be able to think straight, something that he couldn't do when he was focused on Yugi.

But Yugi had been in front of Magpie's, which meant that he had figured it out. The Pharaoh shook his head, hating that he had pressed on. Yugi had it all figured out before he had even gone into the building where the others were. The Pharaoh resisted the urge to curse himself for his stupidity; he had been so focused on one part. He ran a hand through his hair. He was getting old if this was happening.

"Connolly house." The Pharaoh glanced up, nodding towards Bishop before walking to the door and knocking on it. He only had to wait a moment before the door opened, Tommy staring at him before looking back inside and sneaking out. The teenager smiled and glanced over at Bishop, his smile wavering somewhat.

"Have you found anything?"

"We might have found something, but we need you to come along." The Pharaoh glanced at the house before sighing. "We're trying to help your grandmother the best we can but…"

Tommy was looking around, the Pharaoh trying not the flinch as the teenager looked nervous. "Where's your friend?"

The Pharaoh cleared his throat, debating on whether or not he could actually speak the truth, when the door opened again, the Time Lord and Bishop freezing as Edward Connolly walked out of the door, staring at the two men before looking at his son. Edward shifted nervously before reaching out for Tommy. "We already told you all that we knew. We're busy, lots to do today. Tommy, come in."

"Tommy, come with us." The Pharaoh spoke slowly, pulling off his sunglasses and glaring at Edward Connelly. "We need him."

Edward shook his head, holding his son's shoulder. "I saw you around here once and I told you and your Jap friend to get out of here." Edward turned to look at Bishop. "Did you know that he had a Jap with him? Can you trust him anymore? I didn't fight against the Germans just to have their allies try and overtake-"

"Dad." Tommy shook his head before pulling away. "I'm going with them."

"Well I-" Edward leaned forward, pushing his finger into his son's shoulder. "I did not fight in a War just to have little punks like you telling me what to do."

Tommy stared at his father before backing up, shaking his head. "I thought you fought so you could give me the chance to say what I wanted to." Tommy's hands balled into fists as he stared at his father. "And I know what you've been doing. I've seen you go into the kitchen before those people arrive. You're tipping them off! And I didn't say anything because I thought that you would admit it! No, I'm going with them and I'm getting Gran back!"

"Edward?" The Pharaoh looked up as Rita opened the door, looking shocked. "You called them in…on our neighbors…my mother?"

"I-I did it for you, Rita!" Rita didn't listen, slamming the door in his face. The Pharaoh fought to keep a smile from crossing his face as he stepped aside to allow Tommy to walk towards them, glancing at Bishop. The detective inspector nodded and turned to walk away, heading back down the street. Tommy followed after him, the Pharaoh taking a last look at Edward. He forced himself to walk slowly, knowing that it wouldn't help if he rushed ahead of the others, that was one of the reasons that he had brought Tommy. He wanted to at least show an imposing front, because the creature obviously knew they were here.

He took off his sunglasses, trying to calm himself as they approached Magpie's, watching as Bishop reached the door and shrugged. "Closed, of course, the coronation. Bad timing all around."

"No. Good timing." The Pharaoh nearly snarled out the words as he walked toward the door, looking around before pressing the sonic against the handle, smirking when it opened. He turned the knob, shoving his shoulder against the door and shoving it inward. He stepped into the store, looking around and just glancing at the television, his eyes focused more on the small square thing on the desk near the back of the store. "Everyone is distracted and focused on their televisions. Whatever it's doing with people, it will get a big group today."

He turned to watch them beginning to search the shop, standing still for a moment before turning to the desk again. His eyebrows rose as he stared at the rectangle on the desk, carefully picking it up and turning it over in his hands. This was something that shouldn't exist yet, not for a long while. The Pharaoh frowned, looking up as the other two walked toward him, Tommy leaning against the desk as he stared eagerly at the object that the Pharaoh held in his hands. "Is that a portable telly?"

"It looks like it."

"But how can that be possible."

The Pharaoh looked up again, staring out into the shop as the televisions around them started to hum, flickering on. He set the portable television down, walking towards the center of the shop as faces appeared on the televisions, a different one on each screen. The Pharaoh turned in place, recognizing the people from the pictures in their files, all of them mouthing something. It took a moment for him to read their lips, realizing that they were all calling for help.

"Gran!" Tommy raced to one of the televisions, placing his hands on either side of the screen as he stared at the frightened old lady's face. The Pharaoh shook his head in sympathy, stopping when he caught sight of a familiar face. He dropped into a crouch, staring at Yugi's face, reaching out to place his hand on the television. The Pharaoh felt his hearts jerk at the fear that was on Yugi's face, watching his companion call out for help. No, he shook his head, focusing on the shape that Yugi's mouth was forming. Yugi was calling out for him in the end. And he had been too far away to hear.

His hand on the screen clenched into a fist. He hadn't been there, and it was driving him crazy. This was what happened when he got too attached, and he had to keep reminding himself of that. The Pharaoh sighed, turning his head sharply as he watched Magpie walk out of his backroom, the man looking surprised to see all of them.

The Pharaoh stood up and strode across the room, speaking before Bishop had any time to pull out his badge. "Why are you taking them?"

"Them?" Magpie looked and the screens and swallowed nervously, fiddling with his hands. "I had nothing to do with them."

"Liar!"

"Oh, I'm afraid he's telling the truth." The Pharaoh turned to look at a woman on the screen, the woman unlike the other faces. She gave him a winning smile before shifting slightly. "He listens to me, or I have threatened him with the same fate. It's amazing what you humans will do to save your lives."

The Pharaoh ignored the human comment, taking a step forward. "Who are you?"

"I am the Wire." She looked at him, tipping her head to the side. "But you are not intimidated, maybe you are something new."

"Why are you here and what do you want with these people?"

She smiled. "You're asking all the good questions. Smart and good looking, someone is lucky to have you. But I am here because I was executed on my home planet, forced into energy particles and I came down here to hide."

"So you need energy." The Pharaoh smirked. "You are made of energy and you need it, but you want it outside of your environment."

"And humans just taste delicious." The Wire smiled and licked her lips, the Pharaoh raising an eyebrow as she slowly began to gain color, ignoring the exclamations of the humans behind him. Of course they would be dazzled by the show, but the Pharaoh was more worried about what the show would mean. She was using up power to do this, which meant that she would have to feed soon. From what he said from her other victims, she was too greedy, glutting herself and stripping the people of their faces as she attacked their brain. He shifted as the Wire looked at him, throwing him a wink. "And I'm hungry."

The Pharaoh didn't have time to react, his eyes going wide as purple lightning latched onto his face, the Pharaoh feeling a tug as the Wire tried to gorge herself on him. He wavered, feeling his knees begin to buckle under the strain, but he forced himself to stay upright. He reached into his pocket, every move taking more effort than normal as he worked against the pull of the Wire, reminding himself that two others counted on him. But that didn't have as much weight as the thought that Yugi was counting on him, he was the only one who could save his companion. He grunted with the effort to draw the screwdriver out of his pocket, feeling the pull stop for a moment.

"Armed. He's armed and dangerous. Abort. Abort!" The tendrils released quickly, the Pharaoh gasping for breath as he fell backwards and hit the floor. For a moment, he was disoriented, turning his head the side as Magpie scurried over to his desk, picking up the portable television. The man walked over to the television that was showing the Wire, Magpie holding the device steady as the purple light jumped from the television to the device, the Wire transferring herself to her new base.

The Pharaoh didn't hear what she said to Magpie, but it made the man rush from the shop. The Time Lord watched them go, remaining on the ground for a moment longer before he pulled himself up to his hands and knees, glancing down at Tommy. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the teenager was safe, shaking him into consciousness. Once Tommy was opening his eyes, the Pharaoh turned to look at Bishop, wincing when he realized that the detective inspector hadn't been so lucky. Bishop's face was missing, the Pharaoh bowing his head for a moment before standing up, stumbling for the door.

He caught the handle before he fell over, catching the last glimpse of Magpie as he headed away, the Time Lord sighing and stumbling out into the street. He had to stop them before they completed whatever scheme the Wire had in mind. The Pharaoh didn't care what her original crime was; he only cared about the revenge that she was sure to take. And, for that, she would need energy, energy that she gathered from the brainwaves of humans as they watched their televisions. Today was the perfect day for that, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth the second, the coronation that everyone would try to watch in front of their televisions. But to get that much power from a wide area, the Wire would have to connect to something to have her energy broadcast instead of hopping from house to house.

He turned on the spot, his eyes widening as he saw the broadcast tower in the distance, a smile breaking across his face. Alexandra Palace was the closest broadcast station, the only one that Magpie could get to and set up the equipment before the coronation started. That was, the man would have time to get away. The Pharaoh nodded to himself before stumbling back into the shop, now what he needed was a way to trap the wire, and he knew just the way to do that.

The Time Lord stepped around Bishop's body before beginning to look through the drawers of the shop, quickly finding almost everything he needed. There were still a few things that he would have to get from the TARDIS, but he would be able to do it. The Pharaoh smiled before getting to work, pulling out the sonic screwdriver and quickly setting to work, looking up as Tommy walked over to him. "What was that?"

"That was an attempt to make you like your grandmother."

"And, it will happen today."

The Pharaoh looked up at Tommy before sighing. "It will happen again until she's gone."

"But the people watching the coronation…"

"I know." The Pharaoh held a wire in place while he used the screwdriver to solder it into place, turning his head to the side before deciding that it would work for now. There were still some things to assemble, but that could be done on the run. He turned away from the desk, searching the shelves for a long spool of wire with a plug on each end, an early extension cord. The Pharaoh nodded before picking up his creation, handing the spool of wire to Tommy before rushing out of the shop, walking as quickly as he could with the load. He immediately headed for where they had left the TARDIS, Tommy lingering at the shop a moment longer before rushing to catch up.

"But-"

"Just a few other things and then we'll go." Tommy nodded, keeping pace with him as they rushed toward the TARDIS, the Pharaoh passing the device to Tommy before unlocking the TARDIS. He closed the door behind him, immediately rushing into the corridors of the TARDIS, opening the first door that he came to. The TARDIS gave a soft hum before nudging his mind. The Pharaoh turned in the suggested direction, snatching the rectangle from the shelf before rushing for the console room, nearly tripping over the wires that the TARDIS had exposed for him. He patted the TARDIS before stumbling out, feeding the tape into the top of the device before wrapping the wire around his shoulder. He nodded in the direction of the broadcast tower before setting off at a run.

Tommy still held the device, the Pharaoh turning sideways as he made the final connections, checking over his earlier work to be sure that everything would stay put. If any portion of it failed, he would have to come up with a new plan on the fly. He wasn't quite sure of his ability to do that, especially since he had the sneaking suspicion that he would up on top of a broadcast tower at the time. He shivered at the thought, while he wasn't afraid of heights, he was afraid at what would happen at those heights. He could still remember the horrible feeling of his spine breaking as his ribs piercing his heart and lungs, the injuries that killed his forth incarnation when he had fallen off a broadcast tower. Hopefully that wouldn't happen again, he didn't want to test Yugi's ability to deal with a third version of him.

He pushed those thoughts away, looking up as he saw that they were approaching the gates of Alexandra Palace. The Pharaoh shoved the sonic screwdriver into his mouth, rooting around for the psychic paper. He pulled out the leather wallet as they were passing the elderly guard in front of the gates, the Pharaoh watching the guard sputter. "But, shouldn't you be at the coronation?"

The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow at the guard, continuing to run on. Tommy glanced at him, giving the Pharaoh a shrug. "Who did he think you were?"

The Time Lord checked the psychic paper, shaking his head before shoving it back into his pocket. "The King of Belgium. Now, I need to get up there." He stopped, sticking the sonic back into his pocket before looking over the machine. It would have to do because it was the best that he had. The Pharaoh quickly pulled the spool of wire from his back, attaching one end to the machine before turning Tommy around. "Head to the control room and plug this into the wall."

"What will you be doing?"

The Pharaoh paused in his unraveling of the extension cord, situating the spool so that he wouldn't trip over it or have it tangle on something. He gave Timmy a shaky smile before jerking his head in the direction of the broadcast tower. "I'm taking a climb. Meet you back here."

Tommy nodded before rushing off, the Pharaoh watching him for a moment before taking off himself, heading for the base of the broadcast tower. He ignored the shouts of the guard, glancing up to see a small shape already making its way up the broadcast tower. So he wasn't too late. The Pharaoh smiled and grabbed onto the metal, staring to haul himself up the tower. If he could catch Magpie before he hooked the portable television up or before they started broadcasting, he would have a sizeable margin for error, in case everything did go wrong, or he fell from the broadcast tower again. That thought alone had him holding more tightly onto the metal before forcing himself to keep moving.

At his side, the spool smoothly let the wire out as he climbed, the Pharaoh pausing at times to check that it wasn't tangled or broken. A smile crossed his face, one that he couldn't get rid of. This was actually working to his advantage, and he was making better time than the larger Magpie, the man struggling to reach the top of the tower. Of course, Magpie could have been suffering from whatever the Wire had done to him to make him obey, another advantage for the Pharaoh.

The Time Lord pulled himself level with Magpie, watching at the man struggled to set the portable television safely into its place, struggling to work against the wind. The Pharaoh looped an arm around a metal bar, securing his own position before shouting over the wind. "Magpie, I'm giving you a chance to stop this!"

"I can't! She promised, she promised to make it stop! She promised that she would make it stop hurting behind my eyes!" Magpie pressed a hand to his head, looking desperately at the Pharaoh. The human stared at the Time Lord before shaking his head, whimpering and clinging to the broadcast tower. "I don't want to do this. I just want my shop!"

"Then you're no use to me." Before the Pharaoh could react, the Wire attached her purple light to Magpie, quickly dissolving the man into nothing before he could fall from the tower. The Pharaoh looked away and gritted his teeth, seething as he pulled himself up to the portable television. He could have saved Magpie if he had acted faster, just another regret to go on his list. The Pharaoh grunted as he settled himself into place, reaching for the television, hearing the Wire laugh. "Oh, you're full of spunk."

He nearly lost his hold as she sent electricity through him, gasping but managing to keep his hold on the tower. The Pharaoh trembled in place as the electricity stopped, feeling some muscles jerking involuntarily as he tried to recover. He looked up at the Wire, still panting for breath as he adjusted himself, a smile on his face. "You'll have to do better than that to best me."

He reached for the spool, quickly finding the end and unplugging the Wire from the tower, plugging in his cord. He held the portable television in his hands, surprised when nothing happened. Worried, he glanced down at the ground, swallowing nervously as he automatically calculated how high up he was. He pulled himself closer to the tower, scrambling for a better hold as the Wire laughed. "Something wrong? It didn't work as well as you think it did? And now you're stuck way up here, you poor dear, scared to death."

"I'm not scared." He snapped back at her, glaring at the wire before looking back towards the buildings. Something on his machine had malfunctioned, meaning that Tommy was probably scrambling to find the part that he need. The Pharaoh mentally urged the teenager to hurry up, freezing as he saw purple lines of energy swarming over the portable television, the Wire humming to herself as she fed. That could only mean that the broadcast was started and the people were being consumed.

The humming stopped abruptly, the Pharaoh looking back down at the small screen and smirking when he saw the panicked look on the Wire's face. Her mouth open and shut in shock before she stared up at him. "You."

"Yes, me." The Wire glared at him before screaming as she was forcibly compressed, her scream fading away as the purple energy disappeared. The Pharaoh smiled to himself before unplugging the cord from the portable television. He stared at the device that Magpie had made before sighing and taking it as well, shoving it into a pocket of his coat. He had to take it in case it was discovered and duplicated, just a matter of protecting the timeline. The Time Lord glanced down, adjusting the coil before slowly beginning to descend, pausing a few times to roll up the extra wire.

It took longer to go down than up, the Pharaoh stopping a few times to catch his breath and calm himself down. He was being careful this time; there was no chance that he would fall to his death. Besides, he had to keep himself safe for Yugi. The Pharaoh smiled at that thought, glancing down to place his foot carefully on the next metal strut. He had to be alive so he could tell his companion off for wandering off again, although, Yugi had been the one to figure this all out, even before the Time Lord. The Pharaoh sighed, glancing around before gingerly lowering himself to the ground.

He walked back along the wire, coiling it up as he approached where he had stationed Tommy, pushing open the door into the broadcast room to see Tommy leaning against the back of one of the chairs and watching the coronation. The Pharaoh watched the screen for a moment, the gilded carriage taking up most of the screen. He stepped into the room, letting the door swing shut behind him, the sound startling the teenager. "We could stay and watch it, if you want."

"No." Tommy shook his head. "I want to see it with my family. My mum kind of had this big thing planned."

"Ah." The Pharaoh nodded, reaching up to rub his cheek and flinching at the memory. "Stay on your mother's good side; I learned that the hard way."

Tommy just laughed and gestured at the machine, tapping one of the glass bulbs that were on top. "One of these gave out when I finished plugging it in. I replaced it but, I don't know if it worked."

"It worked." The Pharaoh walked over and pressed a button, the lid of the machine opening and sliding the tape part of the way out. He took the tape, turning it over in his hands. "Although, I have bent the time stream a bit to do it." At the questioning look, the Pharaoh shook the tape gently. "I invented the recorder too early. Although, it is just Betamax."

He hummed to himself, flipping the tape over in his hands before pocketing it, reaching over to disassemble the machine, Tommy helping by ferrying bits and pieces into the drawers that were around the broadcast station. It took less time to take the tape recorder apart than it had to put it together, the Pharaoh dumping the spool off in one corner before stretching. "Let's get you back for the coronation."

"I'm not going without Gran."

"I was never suggesting that we just leave the others. Come on." The Pharaoh walked out of the room, aware that Tommy was jogging right behind him. He managed to contain his excitement until they had left Alexandra Palace, trying to look dignified as he passed the guard, only to let that exterior drop as he broke into a run. He had to see if his plan had worked. There was always a chance that it hadn't worked, but he had been sure, he had run the calculations through his head enough times to be sure about this. Still, there was just enough fear to get him to run, the one chance that Yugi would be forever stuck as a faceless being.

He could hear Tommy working to keep up with them, the Time Lord leading the teenager through the streets back to the place where Bishop had established his hideout. Thankfully, the sidewalks were empty at this time, everyone inside to watch the coronation. He glanced toward the street where Tommy lived, giving the teenager a quick glance over his shoulder before sprinting for the two wooden doors, both of them left slightly ajar. For a fleeting moment, the Pharaoh remembered Bishop, guessing that the detective inspector had gotten back to the place first; which meant that the victims had been freed before now. But then…Yugi!

The Pharaoh turned sideways, slipping through the gap in the door, wincing as he scraped against the door. He wiggled through the small space, stumbling as he tried to move immediately to a run again. The Time Lord caught himself, coming to a stop as he looked around the huge space, spotting the dark blue unmarked car still parked in the middle of the wide space. He glanced up toward the office, not seeing Stan or Bishop there, taking a few steps forward to walk around the car. The cage would be on the other side of the car, and he could see Yugi then.

The steps brought him around the car, the Pharaoh staring at the crowd of people that milled around. He glanced to his side as Tommy rushed over to him, the teenager smiling before pointing into the crowd. "That's my Gran! She's alright!"

The teenager rushed away without another word, the Pharaoh shaking his head and looking back at the crowd, his smile disappearing as he looked around for one person. He saw Tommy rush to his grandmother and pull her into a hug, the elderly woman looking shocked before hugging him back. The Pharaoh shoved his hands into his pockets, about to walk away when he heard Yugi's laugh, his head snapping back up at the sound. The Time Lord froze, looking back at the crowd to see a man speaking to Yugi, the human laughing at what the man said. It was a moment before Yugi turned his head, the Pharaoh feeling himself lean forward. He jerked himself back upright as Yugi met his eyes, the smile already on the human's face widening as Yugi turned toward the Pharaoh.

The Time Lord's breath caught at the smile, not even aware that he was walking forward until Yugi was jogging the final steps between them. He reached out, pulling Yugi into a hug as soon as he was able to, ignoring the rest of the people around him. The Pharaoh felt a smile crossing his face, giving a short laugh before lowering his head, feeling Yugi trying to move closer to him. He took a deep breath, smelling the shampoo that Yugi used and the salty tang of sweat that was underneath, shifting so his head was resting on Yugi's shoulder, feeling his companion grab fistfuls of his shirt. The Pharaoh turned his head, sighing against Yugi's neck and feeling his companion shiver at that.

He pulled back, only far enough to look at Yugi's face to memorize it, afraid that he might lose it again. Those bright purple eyes and that winning smile, the cute nose, just everything about Yugi. The Pharaoh smiled before kissing Yugi, pulling back to rest his forehead against Yugi's. He was rewarded with that wonderful laugh again, the Time Lord smiling and making no move to pull them out of the hug. He was content to just stay like this forever.

* * *

Yugi tried not to laugh as the Time Lord ran his hands over his sides, the alien's hands moving steadily south even as Yugi tried to wiggle out of his grip. The Pharaoh knew what he was doing, the smile that Yugi could feel against his neck proof of that. With his one free hand, Yugi reached down to try and redirect one of the wandering hands, giving up when it wouldn't budge. He looked up, smiling as he saw Tommy weaving through the crowd in their direction. "Hey Tommy!"

He waved to get the teenager's attention, Tommy waving back and continuing to make his way through the crowd. The approach of the teenager was enough to discourage the Pharaoh from his actions, the Time Lord sighing and standing upright, Yugi adjusting his position on the brick wall that he was sitting on, leaning back against the Pharaoh. Tommy came to a stop beside them, balancing a plate of food in one hand and a drink in another, glancing around with a smile. "Have you seen my mum? She told me to grab her something and then disappeared!"

"Mothers." Yugi waved his hand at the Pharaoh, the Time Lord taking the opportunity to grab it and hold onto it. Yugi struggled for a bit before giving up, allowing the alien to keep a hold of his hand.

"No. Maybe she went to get something from your house." Tommy just shrugged as an answer. Yugi took a sip of his drink, wondering what the orange concoction that they were serving was before looking up at Tommy. "The Pharaoh tells me you saved the day."

"No." Tommy blushed. "I just replaced something, anyone could have done it."

"Yeah, but you weren't up a broadcast tower. No, that counts as saving the day. Be proud of yourself Tommy." The teenager smiled and nodded, leaning back against the brick wall and looking over the block party. Yugi relaxed as well, looking up at the Pharaoh. "And you're sure that she'll stay in there."

"Yes." The Pharaoh nodded, Yugi noting that the Time Lord didn't let go of his hand to reach for the tape. "But, if it will back you feel better, I could always use transtemporalextopation methods to neutralise the residual electronic pattern."

Yugi nodded before blinking and shaking his head. "What?"

The Pharaoh leaned over and whispered into his ear. "I'll tape over it."

"You!" Yugi turned around and gave the Pharaoh a playful shove, batting at the hands that tried to pull him back again before turning to face the street again, ignoring the pouting Time Lord to smile at Tommy. "He likes to remind people he's smart."

"Well he is."

"See!"

"That's no reason for rubbing it in." Yugi stuck his tongue out at the Pharaoh, feeling his stomach flip as the Time Lord simply smirked, his eyes darkening for a moment. Yugi swallowed and looked away, trying to calm his pounding heart. He had a sneaking suspicion that the Pharaoh knew what he was doing to him, and part of him wondered what the Pharaoh was thinking at the moment. Yugi shook his head, pushing those thoughts away and allowing the Pharaoh to catch his hand again, trying to ignore the soft touches that the Time Lord was giving his palm.

His attention was grabbed by the door to Tommy's house opening, watching as Tommy's parents had a quiet conversation, his eyes dropping to the suitcase that Edward Connolly held in his hand. Yugi raised an eyebrow, Rita closing the door on Edward, the man slumping before walking away. He came back to himself as the Pharaoh gave a short laugh. "Good riddance."

"Yeah." Tommy gave a slow nod, not seeming as enthusiastic as the Pharaoh. Yugi looked between the two before reaching out to give Tommy a shove in the direction that his father was trudging.

The teenager looked back at him in surprise, Yugi just smiling and jerking his head in Edward Connolly's direction. "Follow him."

"But-"

"If nothing else, because he's your father. He may have done things wrong, but humans tend to do that a lot…or so I'm told." Yugi shot a glare back at the Pharaoh before looking at Tommy again. "As much as you might be mad at him right now, he's a part of your life. At least help him out."

The teenager hesitated for a moment more before nodding, rushing to his house and knocking on the door, passing the plate of food and the glass to his mother before turning and running after his father. Edward started as Tommy walked up to him, taking the suitcase before they began heading down the street. Yugi smiled and set his empty glass on the brick wall. He felt the Pharaoh rest a hand on his shoulder, tipping his head back to look at the Time Lord. "Good advice."

"You think so?"

The Pharaoh nodded before pulling himself up onto the wall to sit next to Yugi. The human just smiled and moved closer to the alien, sighing as the Pharaoh wrapped an arm around his shoulders. He rested his head on the Time Lord's shoulder, shivering as the Pharaoh managed to find a small patch of skin from where his shirt had ridden up. The Time Lord's fingers gently stroked over the spot, Yugi closing his eyes and just listening to the sound of the people celebrating, shifting closer to press a kiss to the Pharaoh's neck. He heard the Pharaoh clear his throat, Yugi smiling at the sound. "TARDIS?"

"Sure." Yugi slid off the wall, picking up his glass and placing it back on the table. He took the Time Lord's hand, the two of them walking back to the TARDIS that was parked just on the next street. Yugi leaned against the Pharaoh, unable to keep smiling as he watched the blue box. Aside from his short misadventure with the Wire, it had been a great day. His stomach was still happily full from all of the food that he had eaten, Yugi almost falling asleep at this point, but he kept remembering that smirk that the Pharaoh had given him.

He wished for once that he hadn't imposed the rule that they would go slow, those looks that the Pharaoh would shoot him filling him with a pleasant warmth that just made him want to kiss the alien. But they were perfectly fine like this, Yugi loving that they were able to keep acting how they usually did, because he would have missed that part of their friendship the most.

Yugi pulled the key from around his neck, unlocking the door before stepping in, taking a deep breath. He yelped as the Pharaoh scooped him up, the Time Lord carrying him over to the captain's chair before laying him down on it. Yugi scrambled to get up, moving too slow. He laughed as he Pharaoh caught him, allowing himself to be pulled back into the Pharaoh's lap, smiling down at the Time Lord before pulling up him into a kiss. He felt the Pharaoh sigh, tentatively brushing his tongue against the alien's. The Pharaoh pulled him closer, Yugi feeling the corner of his mouth twitch up in a smile before he continued to kiss the Time Lord, tangling his fingers in the Pharaoh's hair.

He lost track of time as he kissed the Pharaoh, both of them coming up for air, panting between short kisses. Vaguely, Yugi realized how different this was from the quick kisses that they had shared before, humming to himself as he caught his breath, moving back to the Pharaoh's lips, moaning as the Pharaoh tilted his head to his side, adjusting Yugi's position for a better kiss, Yugi shifting on the Pharaoh's lap to try and get closer. The Time Lord's hands came to rest on the side of his head, neither of them noticing as the alien's fingers slid in front and behind his ears. Yugi had a moment to register the sudden flare of the fragment in his mind before he pulled away with a gasp, his eyes rolling back in his head.

The familiar melody that he had come to associate with the Pharaoh suddenly filled his head before it disappeared, Yugi frowning before he felt surprise and contentment filling his head, emotions that didn't belong to him. He knew that he should be feeling surprised as well, too distracted by how good it felt. He sat completely still, letting the strange feeling of completeness take over him, the melody coming back to him a moment later, flowing around his head mixed with the hum of the TARDIS.

All too soon the wonderful feeling was ripped away, Yugi swaying in place before catching himself. He felt the Pharaoh's hand supporting him, looking up to see that the Time Lord was looking worried. Yugi reached up to press a hand against the Pharaoh's cheek. "What's wrong?"

"What did you feel?"

"Surprise and happiness." Yugi shrugged before trying to snuggle against the Pharaoh, the Time Lord pulling him away and looking him directly in his eyes.

"Yugi…"

"That's all, I swear! And it felt good." Yugi blushed as he added that last part, the Pharaoh raising an eyebrow before taking a deep breath. Yugi trembled in anticipation as the Time Lord arranged his hands in the same way again, sighing when he felt that same completeness. This time, he was able to concentrate on what was going on around him much better, Yugi opening his eyes to see that the Pharaoh was still staring at him.

"Yugi, what do you feel?"

"Good."

"Focus." Yugi blinked as a spark of something that felt like anger interrupted his happy haze. The Pharaoh sighed. "What do you feel?"

He tried to concentrate, focusing on the feels being the completeness. Yugi bit his lip, trying to pick out how each felt, realizing that they felt foreign. "I feel…worry. It's not mine."

"That's me." The Pharaoh let his hands drop, Yugi gasping as the connection was suddenly cut. He swayed on the Pharaoh's lap, the Time Lord reaching up to catch him. Yugi flinched, rubbing his forehead before he looked up at the Pharaoh. The look of fear on the alien's face made Yugi lean back, debating for a minute before reaching forward to touch the Pharaoh's cheek.

"Pharaoh?"

"That fragment…I-I think I know what it's doing."

Yugi smiled, the expression faltering. "That's good, right?"

The Pharaoh looked away for a long moment before sighing, looking back at Yugi. "It might not be."

"Pharaoh, what is it doing? And don't lie to me, I deserve to know."

"Yugi, it's changing you."

"Not killing me?"

"It can still do that." The Pharaoh sat back, wrapping his arms around Yugi's waist and holding him close. "From what I can tell, it's changing you into a Time Lord."

Yugi stared at him in shock, the Pharaoh shaking his head and resting his forehead against Yugi's. "It'll take a while, but it's already changing the way your brain works. You can sense me and probably the TARDIS. I don't know how fast it'll be going, but you'll stop being human eventually. I'm so sorry, Yugi."

"Why? It's not your fault." Yugi sat up, lifting the Pharaoh's chin with his fingers. "I made the choice to come and get you. If anything, it's my fault, my choice. And I'm happy, you won't be alone anymore."

The Pharaoh tried to smile, only to end up shaking his head, unable to meet Yugi's gaze. The human smiled and guided the Time Lord's gaze back to him, wrapping an arm around the Pharaoh's shoulders. "I'm still going to be me, nothing can change that."

That got a smile out of the Time Lord, the Pharaoh leaning forward to kiss Yugi. He pressed himself up against the Time Lord, reaching back to catch one of the Pharaoh's hands as he unwrapped his arms from around Yugi's waist. He set the hand back in place, breaking the kiss. "Please. I'm still here."

He watched as the Pharaoh hesitated for a moment before nodding, his other hand moving to rest on the back of Yugi's neck. "We have a while."

"And you'll have me for all that time." Yugi gasped as the Pharaoh leaned down to kiss his neck, reaching up to cling to the Pharaoh's shoulders. Compared to their earlier kisses, this one was slow, The Pharaoh cradling Yugi close to him like he was afraid to let the human go. Yugi pulled back, nuzzling the Time Lord's neck. "You won't be alone anymore, my Pharaoh. You'll have me forever."


	25. The Impossible Planet

** Chapter Twenty-Four: The Impossible Planet **

_"So. When it comes right down to it, why did you come here? Why did you do that, why? I'll tell you why.Because it was there."  
-The Doctor_

Yugi walked into the console room, looking around before straightening his shirt and walking up to the Pharaoh, leaning against the console. The Time Lord shot him a look, Yugi shivering at the look. "You alright?"

"Yeah, a shower, food and some sleep was all I needed."

"Mm." The Pharaoh gave him a long look, Yugi mentally congratulating himself on wearing these jeans and shirt, both articles of clothing clinging to him. With that look, Yugi was regretting not asking the Pharaoh to join him for his nap, but he had the sneaking suspicion that he wouldn't have gotten any sleep at all, not that he would have minded that at all. In the past month, linear time, they had pushed that boundary so many times. Yugi shivered at the reminder, all of their adventures ending with him pressed up against some surface as both he and the Pharaoh tried to get closer to each other. Thankfully, there hadn't been any more discussion about what the fragment was doing to Yugi. Now that he knew that he wouldn't suddenly keel over dead, Yugi was more than happy to just forget about its existence.

He gasped as the Pharaoh walked up behind him, pulling him into a hug and kissing the back of his neck. Yugi wrapped his arms around the Pharaoh, leaning back against him. He bit his lip to keep from making a noise, the idea of just going back to his room much more appealing. Yugi turned his head, giving the Pharaoh more access, the Time Lord immediately taking advantage of it. Unfortunately, Yugi's cell phone chose that time to go off.

They parted, Yugi with a frustrated groan as he tried to calm himself back down. He reached into his pocket to take out his phone, glancing up to look at the Pharaoh, finding the Time Lord on the other side of the console. Yugi huffed before staring at the caller ID on the phone, rolling his eyes before he answered it. "Hey Mom."

"Hey Yugi. I hadn't heard from you in a while."

Yugi sighed and sat back in the captain's chair with a smile. "I meant to call you earlier, but I kind of passed out."

"Passed out? Was it some sort of alien thing?"

"No, Mom, I was tired."

"Oh." He could imagine the blush Junri would have, some part of him glad that his mother cared so much about him. "Well, I just worry, Yugi. You're out there all alone with the Pharaoh…and he isn't the most reliable."

"He's plenty reliable."

"To me he isn't. And…I trust your judgment, sweetheart. When will you be coming home?"

"Eventually. For all I know I could be headed your way right now, but in the future."

The line was silent for a while before Junri sighed. "I'm never going to get how you are able to keep up with all of that stuff."

"Comes with the territory."

"Right. Well, I have to get off to work. Just checking to be sure that the Pharaoh hasn't gotten you killed or done anything else to you." Yugi glanced over at the Time Lord, wishing that the Pharaoh would do something else to him. "I'll see you when you come around. I love you."

"Mom, I-" He stared at the time rotor, the truth about what was happening to him right on the tip of his tongue. Junri knew nothing about the fragment that he housed in his mind or the fact that it was the reason that he wouldn't be human anymore sometime in the future. Yugi bit his lip, glancing at the Pharaoh before sighing. "I love you too. Bye."

The line when dead, Yugi staring at his phone before pocketing it, standing up slowly. The Pharaoh looked his way pausing in his usual circle around the TARDIS before quickly walking to Yugi, pulling him up into a hug. "Yugi…"

"I can't tell her. I just can't." Yugi shook his head, clinging to the Pharaoh. "I don't want to her to know that…She's so afraid that she'll lose me."

The Pharaoh just nodded, holding him close as Yugi trembled, trying to get up the courage to dial his mother's number again, finally sighing and putting his phone away in his pocket. He would call her after this adventure, and he would ask the TARDIS to remind him. The time machine was like a second mother to him and he had a sneaking suspicion that the TARDIS was on Junri's side in this thing. She had an increasing tendency to lock the Pharaoh and Yugi in different rooms when Yugi needed his rest, food or to call his mother, not letting either of them out until Yugi was done.

He stepped out of the hug, smiling as the Pharaoh continued his rounds, reaching out to pet the TARDIS. His hand was hovering over the console when the TARDIS made a strange groaning noise, the time machine wobbling a bit before righting herself. Yugi glanced up at the Pharaoh, the Time Lord staring at the time rotor before glancing at Yugi. "Change of plans, I'm setting her down close by."

Yugi nodded and braced himself for the rocking that would indicate that they were leaving the time vortex, startled when it was much rougher than usual. He blinked in confusion and looked over at the Pharaoh, stumbling backwards to allow the Time Lord to get by, the Pharaoh struggling to land the TARDIS. Yugi lunged for a lever when the Pharaoh pointed at it, pressing down on it and smiling when he heard the dull thud of the TARDIS landing, glancing over at the Pharaoh before standing up.

A jerk of the Pharaoh's head sent them outside, Yugi stopping short when he realized that they were in a small space, edging to the side so that the Pharaoh could get out of the TARDIS. The Time Lord gave the cramped space they were in a quick look over before reaching out to rest a hand on the TARDIS, Yugi perking up as he heard a soft hum from the machine. He edged closer to the TARDIS, glancing between the Pharaoh and the time machine. "What's wrong with her?"

"It feels like she's queasy, or digesting…" The Pharaoh trailed off, glancing around before shrugging. "We're stuck here for the moment. Give her a few hours and she'll be fine."

"Right." Yugi nodded before moving to the door and pulling it open, squeezing through the small space before opening it wider for the Pharaoh. "I say we take a look around. Just remember we're in Storage Area 6. And don't give me that look, you're an old man."

"Old man?" The Pharaoh looked appalled, Yugi chuckling to himself before breaking into a run, rushing to the next door. He scrambled to get it open, aware that the Pharaoh was coming to get him. Yugi managed to wiggle through the small opening, still laughing as he rushed into the large room, coming to a stop at the sight of strange writing that covered the wall opposite of him. Yugi stared at the writing, having a moment to be amazed that the TARDIS wasn't translating before the Pharaoh grabbed him. "Who are you calling an old man?"

Yugi didn't respond; too busy staring at what was written in red above the strange black letters: Welcome to Hell.

The Pharaoh noticed his distraction, setting him down before looking in the direction that Yugi was. The Time Lord tipped his head to the side and rushed over to the writing, sitting on the stairs beside it as he stared at it. Yugi followed at a slower pace, staring at the strange symbols. They reminded him slightly of Arabic, but he was more disturbed by the fact that the TARDIS wasn't translating them. He sat down next to the Pharaoh, reaching out to trace over one of the letters before looking at the Time Lord. "I can't read them."

"I might be able to, but this is old. Older than the TARDIS or the Time Lords." Yugi stared at him, the Pharaoh reaching out to rest a hand on a blank space on the wall, frowning as he stared at the letters. "The TARDIS isn't translating this for me, because she just doesn't know about this language."

"But, what about your language? The TARDIS doesn't translate that."

"I ask her not to." Yugi shot the Pharaoh a hurt look before shaking his head, resting a hand on the Pharaoh's arm as an apology. He had no right to demand that the Pharaoh share his language with him, it was one of the few things that the Time Lord had of his planet anymore. The Pharaoh smiled at him and placed a hand over Yugi's shaking his head when he looked back at the wall again. "I must be getting rusty, because I don't understand any of this."

"Well, this is a base right?"

The Pharaoh looked around before nodding, standing up. Yugi stood with him, moving his hand so they could hold hands. "Sanctuary Base, standard form." He turned on the spot before shaking his head. "And it sounds like there's something gone on outside…and below."

Yugi turned his head to the side, nodding slowly. "Sounds like high winds."

"And a drill." At Yugi's confused look, the Pharaoh pointed toward his feet. "A drill below and a storm above, interesting."

"Let's find the people. There have to be people here if the drill is still running." Yugi turned, looking at the two other doors in the large room. "And if we came out of a storage section, then it would make sense that-"

Yugi's heart started pounding as he watched the wheel on one of the doors turn, his eyes widening as he shrunk back, the Pharaoh moving to get his sonic screwdriver. Yugi glanced around before snatching up a small stool, looking up as a group of aliens began advancing.

They all wore blue coveralls, carrying a glowing ball in their hands that was attached to their face with a white wire. Yugi swallowed at the sight of the aliens, their white, squid-like heads ending in red tentacles that dangled where the mouth would be, the white wire ending somewhere in the mass of tangles. Yugi stared at the aliens before shifting his hold on the stool, promising himself that he would just use it as a shield, the aliens looked harmless and passive enough, maybe they were just surprised that there were humans on their base. After all, the Pharaoh hadn't said anything about there being humans on this base, Yugi had just assumed as much.

After a moment of hesitation, Yugi lowered the stool a bit, giving the aliens a smile. To his surprise, they titled their heads to the side, the balls in their hands lighting up as they spoke. "We must feed."

"What?" Yugi scrambled backward, the Pharaoh stepping in front of him with the sonic aimed at them. The aliens continued to move forward, Yugi glancing backward to see that they were backing into a line of counters. He turned back to tell the Pharaoh this, realizing that the aliens had cross the room in that time, Yugi staring helplessly as they came to a stop. He and the Pharaoh were outnumbered and surrounded. It would be easy for the aliens to reach out and grab them if they tried to slip by.

"We must feed. We must feed. We must-" The alien in front of the others stopped, staring at the ball in its hand before it gave the ball a sharp smack, staring at it for a moment before looking at them again. "We must feed you, if you require it."

Yugi felt his jaw drop open in shock, the Pharaoh glancing back at him before quickly pocketing the sonic screwdriver. He looked at the aliens a moment more, their leader staring back at him, but sounding almost sheepish. "Electromagnetic waves sometimes interfere with the translators. We apologize for the inconvenience."

"That's…fine…" The Pharaoh reached back for Yugi, the human hanging onto him as they looked around the room. "So where-"

"I thought I told you Ood to report…" A red headed human barged in, staring at Yugi and the Pharaoh. The first thing that Yugi noticed was the gun that the man carried, leaning slightly closer to the Pharaoh. He felt the Time Lord shift, probably looking at the gun. Before the Pharaoh could speak, the man reached for a communicator, speaking into it. "Captain, you aren't going to believe this, but we have company…human company."

Yugi couldn't hear the reply from the captain, but the curt response from the man was enough to tell him that it was an order. The man dropped his gun to his side, glaring at the aliens before motioning with his free arm. "Go to your stations. Didn't you hear the warning about the impact?"

The aliens shuffled away, the man staring at them before gesturing. "I have orders from the captain to get you up to the command unit. You'll be safer up there than with the Ood."

"Ood?" Yugi didn't get his answer as the man took off, the Pharaoh grabbing his hand and rushing after. Yugi wasn't surprised that they were moving at a run, swallowing nervously when he felt the station shaking under him. He supposed that the better question would have been what kind of impact was coming, suddenly not sure that the station would hold. The base, which had seemed so sturdy before, was suddenly shaking because of whatever was coming, Yugi glancing up at the man that was leading them. "What kind of impact?"

"Later." He was shocked by the curt reply, stumbling as the base shook again. Yugi reached for the Pharaoh's hand, using it to steady himself as he stood up and then not letting go as they rushed down the hallway again, Yugi spotting a door ahead of them. The man who was leading them stopping and quickly opening it before ushering them in, Yugi stumbling a bit over the threshold.

When he looked up, he found himself staring at a command center, stations clearly laid out and with hints about the people that worked there, some messy and some clean. The command center was the same drab colors as the rest of the station, Yugi's gaze jumping to the Ood that were moving along one side of the room, the aliens getting themselves prepared for whatever was coming. A strange, high pitched noise made him look back into the center of the room, four people staring back at him. The oldest woman shook her head, pointing at the two of them. "But that's impossible. No one can get to where we are."

"There had to be an arrival code that we missed."

"No arrival code, captain." The man who had brought them in shifted nervously, Yugi noticing that his hold on his gun had tightened as well. "Just appeared."

"How-" The captain stopped, staring at the flashing screens in front of him before shaking his head. "Doesn't matter now. Brace for impact!"

The humans lunged for their seats, bracing themselves and holding onto the handles that were by their workstations. Yugi glanced back at the Pharaoh before reaching to hold onto the railing, noticing that the Time Lord looked as nervous as well. Yugi bit his lip and looked around, taking a deep breath the moment before the base rocked. He yelped as he was thrown off of his feet, Yugi flinching as his shoulders took on the strain of holding himself in place, his body twisting only as the ground bucked and twisted under them, the base creaking ominously.

There was one more last heave, Yugi losing his hold and falling on the floor, laying there as he breathed heavily. He felt a hand on his check, Yugi turning his head to smiling at the Pharaoh, the Time Lord kneeling next to him. "Yugi?"

"I'm alright."

"Is everyone alright?" Yugi sat up sluggishly as he heard the captain shout, watching as everyone else in the room responded with a series of groans. The Pharaoh looked like he was about to snap at the captain, Yugi resting a hand on the Time Lord's arm just before the next jolt shook the station, Yugi thrown into the Time Lord. The Pharaoh wrapped an arm around Yugi's waist, holding him close and reaching up for a hold again, the two clinging to each other as the base rattled around them, the shaking lasting for a moment longer before going silent, Yugi suddenly aware of how loudly he was breathing.

He stood up slowly, shivering as the Pharaoh's hand slid down his body, looking carefully around the room as people rushed around, one grabbing a fire extinguisher and putting out the small fire that had started. Yugi swallowed, turning to look at the captain as he slumped back in his chair. "We're good, it passed through. Storage sections five through eight are gone though, it probably collapsed through there." The captain rubbed his forehead, looking up at the Pharaoh and Yugi. "Now, about you two."

"Should you even be here?" Yugi looked around, ignoring the odd looks before staring back up at the roof where he could still here the sound of something moving past at a fast rate. "Wouldn't it be better to get out of here with that hurricane?"

"You need an atmosphere to have a hurricane." When Yugi gave the woman a questioning glance, she just shook her head. "Introductions before information. I'm Ida Scott, the science officer in this place."

She pointed to the black man that sat behind the circular console in the center of the room, the man giving a lazy wave. "He's Zachary Cross Flaine, the captain of this fine base."

"Acting captain."

Ida ignored Zachary and moved on, motioning towards the woman beside her, the young woman smiling shyly and pushing a strand of dirty blonde hair behind her ear. "This is Scooti Mallister, trainee maintenance. And the one who brought you in is Mr. Jefferson. Don't bother asking for a first name unless you want to get snapped at."

A flustered young man charged into the room, gasping for breath and glaring at all of them. He straightened out his shirt with one hand, the other arm occupied in holding a bunch of rolled up papers. "Thanks for that. I almost got trapped in the downed section."

"You should have listened to the alarm." Jefferson moved from his place by the wall, the young man glaring back at him.

"I was there checking on something 'vitally important' as per your orders." The young man huffed and marched to his station, sitting down and unrolling one of the papers, ignoring the rest of them.

Ida shook her head, leaning back against her station and rolling her eyes. "That bundle of joy there is Toby Zed, our head of archeology here. And the one next to him is Danny Bartock, head of the ethics committee, which equates to taking care of our Ood here."

Danny gave them a partial salute before standing up to walk over to the Ood that were against the wall, helping them out of their restraints. Yugi stared at the bunch of people before glancing back at the Pharaoh, noticing that the Time Lord didn't seem to be paying attention, his gaze on the ceiling of the base. "You say there's no atmosphere, but there's wind."

"It isn't wind." The Pharaoh's eyes narrowed, Ida sighing and reaching for a lever on the wall. "Here's home sweet home to us."

She pushed the lever down, Yugi craning his head back as the panels on the roof slid back, revealing the inky black of space. His attention was caught by the hints of red and orange, focusing on them as the panels slid back further. Yugi's mouth dropped open as he caught sight of the thing hovering above them, unable to speak as he stared at it. He felt the Pharaoh grip his hand tightly, the Time Lord stepping forward. "That's a black hole."

Ida nodded slowly, tipping her head to stare up at the black hole. "We're in geosynchronous orbit around it…or what passes for it under these circumstances. By all accounts, we should fall in, but we don't."

"B-but black holes are collapsing stars." Yugi looked back at the Pharaoh wanting to be sure that he got this right. "They pull things in because of gravity…or something. We shouldn't be here!"

"And yet, here we are." Zachary gave them a smirk, leaning back in his chair with a shrug. His smugness lasted a moment longer before he leaned forward and pressing a few buttons. Moments later, a grainy hologram of the black hole appeared on the screen, Zachary resting his elbows on the control center. "That's where we are, officially designated K37Gen5. We're on a small asteroid that is orbiting it."

Another press of a button called up the image of the asteroid with the base on it. Yugi was nudged aside, turning to look as Toby leaned up to point at the asteroid. "From what we can gather, there was once a civilization here. The Valtino, that's who we think lived here before, call this place Krop Tor; it means the bitter pill in their language. Apparently, the black hole was a demon that they tricked into eating this asteroid, but it spat it back out because it was poisonous."

"Was that Valtino writing in the area back there?" Yugi gestured over his shoulder, Toby staring at him in confusion before nodding slowly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I've been working on translating this stuff, but I'm only to get a few words here and there." Toby sighed and pushed away from the table. "But I'm getting there."

Yugi watched the archeologist walk back to his work station, only then noticing that the Valtino writing covered the papers that Toby was working on. Yugi resisted the urge to walk over there and try to help, turning around to look at the hologram again as Zachary spoke. "Whatever this place is, there's some strange power located under this station."

"So you're drilling to get to it." The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow, Yugi blinking in surprised as he remembered that the Time Lord had mentioned something about a drill earlier.

"Yeah. The Torchwood Archives wanted to see what this place was, so we were sent here. We came down…" Zachary trailed off as he quickly typed a command into the computer, nodding when a funnel-like shape emanated from the asteroid. "We came down that gravity tunnel and landed here. It's the only way on here. From our calculations, we think that it is enough to balance against the blank hole."

"But that would require," the Pharaoh tipped his head back as he thought, Yugi watching the Time Lord's fingers twitch, "a power source with an inverted self-extrapolating reflex of six to the power of six every six seconds."

All of the crew stared at him in awe, Ida the first one to recover her powers of speech. "That took us two weeks to figure out."

The Pharaoh shrugged, leaning forward to point at the gravity funnel. "If that gives out, you're all done for. Wouldn't it be best to just leave?"

"Not without the power source. We have to know what's going on out there." Ida glared at him, the Pharaoh returning the glare for a moment before straightening up. The two launched into a conversation, Yugi stepping away from them. He could already hear the Pharaoh listing off the possible bad uses of the source of power, Ida responding back just a quickly. Yugi shook his head, accidentally bumping into one of the Ood.

"Oh, sorry."

"No, my apologizes, I should have avoided you."

Yugi stared at the alien before shaking his head. "No. Really, it's my fault." The Ood just stared at him, Yugi shaking his head and offering the Ood a smile. "So, what do you guys do around here?"

"The tasks that are assigned to us."

"Like servants?" Yugi tipped his head to the side, biting his lip. "Do you guys get paid?"

"Why would we need payment? We live to serve."

"Like slaves?" The Ood didn't respond, just blinking at him. Yugi swallowed nervously, not sure how to approach the situation. "Well, do you have names?"

"Why would we need names? We live to serve."

"A-alright." Yugi took a step back, unable to shrug off the feeling that there was something wrong with the Ood. He didn't think it was natural for any species to being this happy to be enslaved to humans, but he could always be wrong. He would just have to ask the Pharaoh and, if the Time Lord couldn't help him, he would act. There had to be some way to help the Ood.

Thoughts of that slipped away from him quickly as he stared at the Time Lord, trying to remember something important, his mind grabbing onto the figure that the Pharaoh had said earlier. It had contained a lot of sixes and that sparked something, the number six suddenly important. Yugi resisted the urge to pace, the command center too small for that. It had something to do with the number six and the shaking that they had experienced earlier, Yugi's eyes going wide before he pushed his way back to the command center, standing by the Pharaoh. "What sections collapsed?"

The Pharaoh blinked and looked at him, the Time Lord suddenly staring off into the distance. Yugi turned to look at the Pharaoh, gasping and lunged forward as the Pharaoh sagged, holding onto him as the Pharaoh paled. "No!"

The Pharaoh pulled away from Yugi, rushing to the door that led out of the command center. Yugi hesitated a moment before rushing after him. He caught the door before it swung shut, squeezing through the small space before sprinting down the corridors, the Pharaoh running ahead of him. They twisted through the series of corridors that they had come up through, Yugi watching as the Pharaoh pulled out his sonic screwdriver, aiming it at the next door. He hurried to catch up, getting to the door just after the Pharaoh.

He spared the habitation unit a quick glance before running onward, the Pharaoh already in the next hallway and racing to the door. Yugi followed him, nearly running into the Pharaoh as the door wouldn't budge. He could hear the Time Lord muttering under his breath, watching as the Pharaoh tried to open the door, first by the mechanism on the door itself before resorting to using the sonic screwdriver, neither of them working, the computerized voice protesting the move. The Pharaoh slumped against the door for a moment, breathing heavily before looking through the small window on the door.

Yugi jumped at the near sob that came from the Time Lord, reaching out to rest a hand on the Time Lord's shoulder, surprised when the Pharaoh just slid down the wall. Yugi frowned before kneeling next to the Pharaoh, wrapping his arm around the Time Lord's shoulders. "Pharaoh? Pharaoh, what's wrong?"

"She's gone."

"She?"

"She's gone…no...she can't be dead." The Pharaoh scrambled to get a good hold on Yugi, the human barely having time to register that the Pharaoh was resting his hands against the sides of his head before he slumped forward, gasping as he felt the Pharaoh's emotions rushing through his head. Yugi shivered, surprised at the depth of sorrow that was coming from the Time Lord, wrapping his arms around the Pharaoh and holding him, pressing his forehead against the Time Lord's. The Pharaoh shivered in his arms, breathing harshly as he tried to bring himself back under control.

Slowly, the Pharaoh's hands fell away from the sides of his head, Yugi continuing to hold the Pharaoh. He ran a hand down the Time Lord's back, holding him close. The minutes passed slowly, Yugi only standing up when the Pharaoh stopped shaking, holding out a hand for the Time Lord. The Pharaoh seized it, holding on tightly as Yugi helped him to his feet. Yugi smiled at the Pharaoh, brushing some of his bangs out of his eyes before turning to look out the small window.

It was as bad as he had feared. The storage section was completely gone, a large gouge in the rock below them showing where it had fallen into the center of the asteroid. Yugi sighed, giving the Pharaoh's hand a squeeze for reassurance. Storage area six had been one of those sections that had fallen through, the section that the TARDIS had been in. Yugi glanced back at the Pharaoh, sighing as the Time Lord began to tremble again, reaching to pull him into a hug. He didn't expect anything different; the Pharaoh had lost the one last tie to his home. The TARDIS was gone.

* * *

He was barely aware that Yugi was leading him back to the command center, trailing along. His thoughts were focused entirely on trying to find the TARDIS in his mind, she was always there. But she wasn't this time, she was completely gone. She had been with him for so long; it was hard to imagine life without her, his mind frighteningly empty. Since Gallifrey had burnt, the TARDIS had compensated by being more of a presence in his head, the Pharaoh doing the same for her.

The horrible part was that he hadn't noticed at first. He had the weak connection to Yugi, the connection that would only flare to life with a touch, and it was enough to have something in his head. It would never be a replacement for the presence of the other Time Lords, but it was enough for now. But he had been too worried about the black hole that they were hovering around and what was going on to notice the obvious.

The Pharaoh tried to stop himself from shaking; some distant part of himself pointing out that it would worry Yugi. He looked up at his companion, noticing that Yugi was looking back at him, the two of the standing right outside the command center. The Pharaoh ducked his head, Yugi hesitating before walking up to the Pharaoh and kissing him. The Time Lord leaned into the kiss, holding Yugi close. This planet could take away the only other thing he had, the thought drawing a whimper from him and making him clutch Yugi tighter.

"Hey." His chin was tipped up, Yugi smiling at him. "I'm still here, alright? I'm not leaving you. And we'll find the TARDIS. I promise."

The Pharaoh gave Yugi a weak smile, that enough to urge his companion on, Yugi opening the door to the command center and striding in. The Pharaoh hovered near the back of the room, trying to adjust to the new silence in his head, his entire being focused on the weak connection. He didn't want to think about what would happen if he lost that, sure that insanity would follow. He didn't have far to go anyway. The Pharaoh swallowed and looked up to watch Yugi, his companion glaring at all of the members of the Sanctuary Base.

"Listen, you need to reroute that drill."

"We can't." Zachary looked around at the others before shrugging. "We don't have the power for one."

"There is something more valuable than this source of power down there!" Yugi stared at all of them before throwing his arms up in the air with a groan. "Can't you do something?"

"No." Zachary leaned forward, tapping a finger against the table. "We are close to the source of power and we will not reroute. Two, we can't spare anything, we're rationed enough as it is. Three, it's an unexplored fissure; it could collapse in the next few days. Four, it's the night shift, we're closing up shop. Sorry, we can't do anything for you. Whatever is down there is lost."

The Pharaoh backed into the wall, trying to cling to it but only managing to nearly fall down. He didn't want to face the fact that the TARDIS may be lost forever, he didn't want to leave his precious ship down there alone. She would be scared and frightened, afraid that she had been abandoned, her one great fear since her original Time Lord had died. The Pharaoh could just imagine her keening right now, shivering and fighting back a similar sound from his own throat.

He looked up at a soft touch to his cheek, staring at Yugi for a moment before he realized who he was looking at. The Time Lord gave a small shake of his head, smiling at Yugi as he came back to himself. The TARDIS was gone, but that was no reason to completely lose himself. There was still Yugi, and enough for them to worry about. The Pharaoh swallowed and stood up straight, waiting to see what Yugi would say. His companion just kept his hand resting on the side of his face, smiling at him. The Pharaoh was sure that Yugi was going to say something to try and cheer him up, the human flinching away as Zachary spoke.

"Since you seem to be stuck, we'll give you a place to stay. We'll take you out with us when we leave. That could be any day now."

"In the meantime," Ida smiled at them, "you can help around here. We need someone in the laundry."

She smirked as she walked out of the room, the rest of the crew slowly trickling out. Zachary paused by the door, looking nervous before he gestured towards the hallway. "You can take any of the rooms that aren't occupied off Habitation Three. As soon as we have things settled, food will be served in Habitation Three. I'm…I'm sorry for your loss."

And then he was gone, the Pharaoh staring after him before pushing off of the wall and walking over to the command center and leaning against it. Yugi walked to him after a moment of hesitation, the Pharaoh looking over at him before looking up at the black hole above him. He sighed; watching the last vestiges of the universe that the black hole had consumed earlier disappeared.

"I've always heard that black holes are gateways to another world or time." Yugi gave a weak chuckle. "There're tons of movies about it."

"Not this one. This one just eats." The Pharaoh shook his head and leaned back against the command center, staring at the door out. The Time Lord sighed, hanging his head and staring at the floor. It was really hitting him now, the fact that he was stuck on this asteroid below a black hole, their existence only guaranteed by a tenuous gravity funnel that could collapse at any moment. And the TARDIS…the TARDIS was far beyond his reach. The Pharaoh ran a hand through his hair before he looked over at Yugi again, the human still staring up at the black hole. He turned and rested a hand on Yugi's shoulder, Yugi jumping before smiling. "Are you alright?"

"Of course I'm alright." Yugi shrugged, the motion not enough to shake the Pharaoh's hand from his shoulder. He reached out, resting his hand on the Pharaoh's outstretched arm. "I'm always alright."

"Yugi…"

"Don't worry about me." Yugi gave a weak laugh, shifting slightly. "I'm fine, just…a bit overwhelmed."

"I do worry. It's my fault that we're stuck here. I should have…"

"Should have what?" Yugi raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "There's nothing you could have done, it's just bad luck. Don't worry about me."

The Pharaoh opened his mouth to speak, shutting it a moment later to shake his head. He reached out for Yugi, pulling him into a hug and holding him close, glancing up at the black hole before ducking his head and resting it on Yugi's shoulder. His companion hesitated for a moment before tightening his hold on the Time Lord, the two of them standing there and clinging to each other.

He shivered as Yugi nuzzled his neck, gently prying the Pharaoh's hands from his back, guiding them to rest on his temples. "I'm here if you need me."

The Pharaoh smiled, guiding Yugi into a brief kiss, ignoring the urge to reconnect with the human. He had to at least try to be more dependent on himself. At the first chance, he would get Yugi off of the asteroid, even if it meant that he had to leave the TARDIS behind, he would be coming back to get her. But the time machine would understand that, she would want to keep Yugi safe as well. And if there was no way to get her back…the Pharaoh stopped before he could go further with that thought, finding himself clinging to Yugi again. At least he still had Yugi.

He looked up as the strands of Bolero drifted through the speakers, Yugi pushing away from him for a moment before cuddling close. The Pharaoh rubbed a hand down Yugi's back, feeling the human coax him into a slow sway, Yugi smiling up at him. "I never got to see you dance."

The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow. "You probably don't want to. It's been a good few years."

"Then I can just teach you again." Yugi laughed before pulling back again, holding his hand before leading him towards the door. "Let's get you some food and then we'll figure out what to do about the TARDIS."

He just nodded, allowing Yugi to lead him out into the hallway, not wanting to tell Yugi that he had resigned himself to leaving this place without the TARDIS. The Pharaoh squeezed Yugi's hand, looking up as they came to the next door, telling himself not to worry about it. If Yugi wasn't worried, then he wouldn't be, or he pretend that he wasn't.

The door opened into the Habitation Unit, Yugi immediately guiding him to a table before rushing off for food; the Pharaoh shaking his head and following after Yugi, the human giving him a shocked glance encouraging the Time Lord to laugh. "Yugi, I'm perfectly capable of functioning on my own."

"But you-"

"I know." The Pharaoh reached up to brush one of Yugi's bangs away from the side of his face, using the contact to brush across the surface of Yugi's mind, smiling as the human shivered. "But I have you."

Yugi gave him a tentative smile before turning around to the food, glancing around at all the colored choices. The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow before quickly pointing to something green and blue, Scooti walking by and giving a low whistle. "You're brave."

He shook his head, scooting out of the way to allow Yugi through, noticing that the human had struck up a conversation with the Ood. "So, what planet are you guys from?"

"It does not matter. This is where we serve, so this is where we are from." The answer got a strange look from Yugi, the human glancing back at the Pharaoh before clearing his throat and trying again.

"Well, do you like it here?"

"We get to serve, and that is our life."

"But are you happy?" The Ood just blinked at Yugi, the human shifting awkwardly before sighing, the Pharaoh recognizing it as a temporary surrender. "Alright. Thanks."

"The Beast and his armies shall rise from the pit and make war against God." Yugi and the Pharaoh froze at that, the Ood focused on the translator ball in its hands. It gave the ball a tap, shaking it a bit before looking at Yugi. "My apologies. I meant to say, please enjoy your meal."

Yugi gave a jerky nod before walking back to the table, the Pharaoh glancing back at the Ood before following him. The two settled down, Yugi poking at his food while the Pharaoh automatically started to eat his without really paying attention, starting when he realized that it was all gone. Yugi laughed, reaching out to poke the Pharaoh's forehead. "Where are you? Oh…TARDIS…right."

The Pharaoh reached up to capture Yugi's hand, holding it in his own on the table. Yugi glanced down at that, smiling before eating his own food. It seemed like that was enough to show his companion that he was coping. Of course, his strategy was not the best; he was just refusing to think about it. It would soon come crashing down on him when he reverted back to his old habits. Until then, he would be alright, he still had Yugi, still had some sort of connection inside of his head, so it wasn't completely silent. Yet.

He looked up from his study of Yugi, taking the time to notice the way his bangs fell against the human's face in jagged strands, when Ida stood up. The intercom system in the room crackled, Ida pressing a button and glancing at the rest of them. "Anything wrong, captain?"

"No. I'm just warning you that I'm signing off. Oh, and the Scarlet System is overhead. It's going now." The intercom crackled again before it went silent, Ida nodding slowly and moving to the lever that would slide back the panels. The Pharaoh shifted in his seat, still holding onto Yugi's hand, tilting his head back as he watched the black hole being revealed.

The first thing that caught his attention was the strip of red that was heading for the black hole, getting smaller and thinner as it reached the center before disappearing altogether. The Pharaoh sighed, hearing Yugi give a gasp of wonder. "It's beautiful. But what was it?"

"The home of the Polushi. They lasted for billions of years. That," the Pharaoh raised his free hand to trace the line of the line of red, "is all of it, all their planets and suns. Gone."

"We have witnessed its passing." Ida spoke the words quietly before shutting the panels again and checking her watch. "Well, we'd better be off to bed, morning shift comes early. Yugi, you'll be helping Scooti with the maintenance, we need another small body to crawl around places. Pharaoh, you're in the laundry."

The Pharaoh shot Yugi a glare when the human laughed, rolling his eyes and watching as the others filed out of the room, the Ood shutting down the food serving area with loud clangs of metal, leaving Yugi and the Pharaoh alone. The Time Lord sighed, just to break the silence and looked up to where the black hole would be.

"Well, they did offer us a ride home."

"The Earth is over five hundred years away."

"That's a long…Wow." Yugi shook his head, staring up at the ceiling is well. "So you'd get back to Earth then. Unless this thing," he tapped the side of his head, "decided to help me out with that."

"Yugi…" He was given a smile by his companion, probably to warn him that it was just a joke. But it still was a little too possible for comfort. He was realizing that he was clinging to Yugi in the absence of his TARDIS, his sanity suddenly relying very much on Yugi being somewhere near him and alive. The Time Lord swallowed harshly, he had to do something about that. It had been dangerous before, but it was worse now. He didn't even want to think about what he would do if Yugi was taken away from him now.

"Huh." The Pharaoh looked up, Yugi holding his cell phone in one hand, the other still entwined with the Time Lord's. He glanced up to see the Pharaoh looking at him, spinning the phone around to show him the display. "No signal. We're finally out of the range you gave this thing. I can't even call my mother now, not that it would help. What would I tell her?"

"You're stuck on an asteroid."

"Beneath a black hole?" Yugi laughed and shook his head. "No, that would earn you another slap and my mother yelling at you, I want to keep you in one piece. It might be better that I can't tell her…since I can't go back."

"Yugi, I-"

"Don't you dare apologize. I wouldn't have given this up for the world." Yugi gave him a soft smile, squeezing his hand. "Stuck with you isn't bad."

"You say that now."

Yugi raised his eyebrow. "Like I would change my mind?" The Pharaoh didn't have an answer for that, looking away. He felt Yugi shift before the human spoke. "What? Are you like some tyrannical housewife secretly?"

The Pharaoh gave a short laugh before looking at Yugi out of the corner of his eye. "What makes you think that I would be the wife?"

"You're the pretty boy."

"Pretty boy?"

Yugi leaned forward and nodded, smiling. "Yeah, much prettier this time around. You've got that tan and sexy thing going for you."

"I take it you approve."

"Of course." Yugi nodded before sitting back and sighing. "I guess that makes me the wife then."

"Sorry."

"No, it just means that I get to nag you." Yugi flashed him a smile and sighed, tipping his head back to stare at the ceiling. "I guess this means that we'll have to settle down, get a house."

"A house!" The Pharaoh groaned melodramatically and rested his forehead against the table. "Oh no."

"Houses and mortgages."

He lifted his head and shook it. "I refuse. I will die before I get a mortgage. That's pushing towards domestic."

"Still don't do domestic?" Yugi tsked before laughing, tipping his head back further as he stretched, the Pharaoh's gaze darting to the skin that was revealed as Yugi's shirt rode up. His companion leaned forward again; the Pharaoh tempted to close the distance between them and kiss him, Yugi smiling to show that he knew what he was doing to the Time Lord. "Then what are we."

"Brilliant exceptions to the rule."

Yugi laughed at that, rewarding the answer with a kiss on the Pharaoh's forehead. "Come on, we have to get up early."

The Pharaoh stood up, still not letting go of Yugi's hand as they walked towards the living quarters of the small crew here, easily locating the rooms that were not being used. Yugi peeked into one of them, smiling before letting go of the Pharaoh's hand and rushing into the room, turning in the small space. The Pharaoh watched him for a moment, Yugi grinning and scrambling up into the top bunk, immediately wrapping the covers around him. "Mine."

"Fine. Just don't fall out." The Pharaoh took of his coat, throwing it over the chair in the small room, sighing before kicking off his shoes, flinging himself back on his bed as Yugi's shoes dropped from above.

"Sorry."

"Humans." The Pharaoh thought he heard Yugi laugh before he flopped back into his bed, reaching for the light. "Night Yugi."

"Goodnight." He flipped the light off, stretching out on the bed. He wouldn't actually sleep tonight, didn't need to. Although, it was strange not to have Yugi there to sleep with, the Pharaoh quickly assuring himself that it was a good thing. Yugi needed his sleep, he didn't need an over attached Time Lord feeling him up at night. Although that idea wasn't too bad, the Pharaoh shook his head, turning onto his side and staring at the wall in the darkness, lifting his head from the pillow as he heard Yugi turn on the bed above him, sitting up as Yugi peered down from his bunk.

"Pharaoh?"

"Yes?"

"About doing domestic…"

The Time Lord sighed. "I didn't mean it as an insult Yugi."

"I know, I know. It's just that…if I had to share a house with anyone, it would be you." Yugi bit his lip for a moment, the Pharaoh staring at him. How had he been so lucky to get this human on the first try? Yugi, who seemed to accept everything about him without blinking, the human who cared about him enough to risk his own life to save him. Yugi understood him better than he sometimes understood himself and always knew what to say. And how could he have been so blind to Yugi's attraction to him earlier? Why hadn't he acted on it?

All of the arguments that he had used against himself melted away, leaving the Pharaoh stuck staring up at Yugi. His companion could handle himself, and it would be too smothering if the Pharaoh acted as he wanted to, keeping Yugi safe all the time. He suddenly felt that the universe was too small of an offer for what Yugi gave to him freely, the Pharaoh struggling to come up with something that he could give back to Yugi. After all, the human offered up himself, all of him, to the Time Lord who had destroyed more planets and species than he had saved. Wasn't it fair to return the offer?

The Pharaoh sat up, scooting off his bed and holding out his hand for Yugi. The human reached out to hold his hand, confused for a moment when the Time Lord gave his hand a tug, smiling when he figured out the signal and clambered down to the floor. Yugi stared up at him, the Pharaoh letting go of his hand and brushing Yugi's bangs away from his face, smiling down at his companion before leaning down for a kiss. Yugi responded eagerly, wrapping his arms around the Pharaoh's neck. The Time Lord sighed into the kiss, taking a step forward as Yugi stepped back, the two of them tumbling onto his bed.

He rolled on top of Yugi, slipping a hand under Yugi's shirt and tracing patterns on the soft skin there. Yugi gasped and arched up into his touch, the Pharaoh surprised when Yugi fumbled to catch his hand. The human panted for breath, staring up at him in surprise. "Pharaoh?"

"It's alright, Yugi." The Time Lord leaned over to kiss him, Yugi slow to respond to this one. The Pharaoh sat up, wrapping his arms around Yugi and pulling the human into his lap. He cuddled Yugi close, staring at the wall across from them. There was a choice to be made here, the choice that the Pharaoh had always avoided since leaving Gallifrey. Right now, stranded without the TARDIS, he had to choose between time and space and Yugi, and Yugi was winning by a large margin. He had forever for time and space, and he and Yugi only had a short while. The Pharaoh smiled at that, tipping Yugi's chin up. "Stuck with you, isn't too bad."

Yugi's mouth fell open slightly, the human trying to figure out what the Time Lord was saying. "W-what?"

"Yugi," the Pharaoh leaned forward, his lips brushing across Yugi's, "how long are you going to stay with me?"

The human blinked, the Pharaoh watching as Yugi focused on the question. Yugi looked up at him, the Pharaoh watching as his companion's eyes darkened, Yugi pressing himself up against the Pharaoh. "Forever."

Their lips met again, Yugi taking the moment to pull the Pharaoh back over him. The Time Lord let himself rest over Yugi, the human arching up against him with a moan. The Pharaoh slipped his hands under Yugi's shirt, brushing over Yugi's sides before beginning to pull the shirt over Yugi's head, the human breaking the kiss to help him. The shirt was thrown to a corner of the room, the Pharaoh ducking his head to kiss the skin that had been revealed to him. He felt hands fumbling with his own shirt, sighing against Yugi's skin and sitting up to help his companion.

Yugi quickly tugged his shirt off, stopping when the garment fluttered back onto the bed, staring at the Pharaoh's chest before looking up, biting his lip. "Is this because you lost the TARDIS?"

"No Yugi." The Pharaoh kissed his forehead. "This is because you are you, amazing and simply you." The Time Lord's hands strayed down Yugi's sides, the human gasping. "Irresistibly you."

Yugi gave a strangled sound that could have been his name, the Pharaoh chuckling before lowering his head to kiss the side of Yugi's neck, resisting the urge to make any marks. He didn't want to have to deal with the other crew members tomorrow or any ribald jokes. Instead, he moved down Yugi's chest, pushing the human back into the bed as he did so. Yugi allowed himself to be lowered to the covers, one hand reaching down to tangle in the Pharaoh's hair.

His companion gave a muffled squeal as the Pharaoh nipped at the skin of his stomach, Yugi panting heavily the closer the Time Lord got to his pants. The hand in the Time Lord's hair tightened for a moment before slipping out, the Pharaoh looking up at Yugi. His companion was biting down on his other hand, Yugi's eyes opening slightly to look down at the Pharaoh, the irises darkened. He smiled up at his companion, dragging himself up Yugi's body to gently kiss Yugi's mouth, not surprised when Yugi responded fiercely.

Their tongues brushed against each other, Yugi clinging to his shoulders and trying to draw him down as the Pharaoh struggled to sit up. The Time Lord gave his companion a quick glance before undoing his belts, stopping when Yugi tackled him back to the bed. He expected the human to go right for the zipper of his pants, surprised when Yugi seemed to kiss his way down the Time Lord's chest in an almost leisurely fashion. "Do you know how hard it's been to not jump you before now?"

The Pharaoh just rolled his hips up into Yugi, catching his companion as Yugi fell onto him. "I can only imagine."

Yugi just glared at him, attacking the button and zipper on the Pharaoh's pants before stripping them off, barely having time to remove the Time Lord's socks when the Pharaoh had flipped them again. The human struggled for a moment before relaxing, gasping as the Pharaoh undid his pants, stroking him through his underwear. His companion bucked up into his hand, a whimper escaping before Yugi clamped a hand over his mouth. The Pharaoh smiled, sitting up to pull off his own pants, turning to pull Yugi's pants and underwear completely off as well.

His companion just stared at him, a mixture of lust and awe in his eyes. The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow as Yugi's gaze strayed down to his crotch, Yugi blushing and looking away. "Oh."

"Oh?"

"It's normal." The Pharaoh shook his head, leaning over Yugi. The human glanced up at him before shifting nervously. "I thought that, because you were-Oh God."

Yugi pressed his head back against the pillow, biting his lip as the Pharaoh began to stroke him again, his hips giving little jerks. The Pharaoh smirked and leaned forward, pressing kisses against Yugi's neck, catching the strangled noises that Yugi was trying to keep from escaping. Slowly, he was able to make out the word that Yugi was repeating over and over again, looking up at his companion's face. "Please, please, please, please, please…"

He shook his head, moving so he could whisper into Yugi's ear, the move earning a muffled moan from his companion. Yugi managed a few more of the soft pleas before moaning, the Pharaoh tracing the shell of Yugi's ear with his tongue. The human whimpered, writhing beneath the Pharaoh, the Time Lord trying to slow the desperate movements. He wanted this to last, not to be done in an instant, but even his own body wouldn't let him move slowly. He had wanted this for too long.

The Pharaoh gave a soft moan, ducking his head to kiss Yugi's shoulder, unable to stop himself from licking the human's skin, enjoying the salty taste of sweat. There was something else there as well, the Pharaoh going still for a moment, deaf to Yugi's quiet protests. A low growl came from him at the scent that was still faintly on Yugi's skin, the Pharaoh not even realizing that he had made the sound. He was consumed by the thought that he could still smell her on Yugi.

His rational mind tried to come back to the fore, insisting that it was just his time sense acting up. Time Lords hadn't physically mated for nearly billions of years. But the Pharaoh wasn't willing to listen, all he could think about was the fact that Yugi still smelled slightly of Miho, and he was not about to give up his companion to that blonde human. Yugi was his and his alone.

He bit down on the skin of Yugi's shoulder, hearing a muffled squeal from his companion before licking the bruise. Now she would know, if she ever dared to get close to Yugi again, that that the human was his. The Pharaoh gave a soft hum before turning to kiss Yugi, slightly soothed by his marking of the human. The faint smell of Miho still lingered on Yugi, but that would be gone soon enough. She would never have him again.

The Pharaoh winced as Yugi clawed at his back, managing to shift the Time Lord enough to grab one of his hands, moving it back towards his erection with a needy whine. The Pharaoh smirked, shaking Yugi's hand from his own and ignoring the moan of disappointment. He waited until he had Yugi's full attention before offering two fingers to Yugi, biting back a moan and the human eagerly took them into his mouth, sucking on them. The Time Lord groaned at the soft noises of enjoyment that Yugi made, unable to stop himself from rocking his hips against Yugi, taking the chance to remove his fingers from Yugi's mouth when the human gasped.

He brought the fingers down to Yugi's entrance, Yugi opening his legs wider, and wrapping an arm around the Pharaoh's neck. The Pharaoh waited until Yugi nodded, slipping one finger in. He barely noticed the slight wince that his companion gave, struck by the tight heat that was Yugi. He trembled, more eager to feel that heat around his own erection, ducking his head to kiss his way up Yugi's neck as he stretched him.

The first sounds that Yugi made had a distressed edge to them, the Pharaoh about to comfort his companion when it changed, the Time Lord shivering as Yugi struggled to muffle the sounds, the human's hips bucking up eagerly. He slipped a second finger in, earning a sharp intake of breath from Yugi, the sound the only pause in the litany of soft moans and squeaks that he was drawing out of his companion. He could feel his self control slipping at the sounds, glad when Yugi gripped his shoulders and shook his head, panting for breath. "N-no more."

The Pharaoh nodded and slipped his fingers out of Yugi, the human's hips following his motion. Yugi gave a disappointed moan, staring up at the Time Lord desperately. The Pharaoh smiled and gave Yugi a fleeting kiss before shifting, feeling the head of his penis brush across Yugi's entrance, the touch earning a sharp intake of breath from his companion, Yugi's hand tightening on his shoulders. But whether from fright or anticipation, the Pharaoh didn't know, but he didn't give Yugi the time to think over it.

Trying to make the motion as smooth as possible, the Pharaoh thrust into Yugi, quickly leaning forward to kiss the human to prevent any sounds from escaping. Yugi gave a strangled whine, the Pharaoh pulling away when they both had to breathe. His companion had his eyes closed, breathing hard. The Pharaoh kissed Yugi's forehead, Yugi opening one eye before nodding slowly, the Pharaoh unsure how to take the motion. His hesitation didn't last long, Yugi rolling his hips up deliberately.

The Pharaoh smirked before lowering his head to kiss Yugi again, drawing out of the human's body at the same time. He thrust back in just as quickly, the way Yugi wrapped his legs around the Time Lord's hips showing that he approved of the pace, the slight pressure encouraging him onward. The Pharaoh complied with his companion's wishes, setting a fast pace.

His first thrusts missed Yugi's prostate completely, an accidental shift bringing him into contact with that bundle of nerves and drawing a moan out of Yugi, the first one that wasn't muffled. The Pharaoh smirked, situating himself so that he could hit that spot again. The next thrust nearly had Yugi screaming, Yugi biting his lip at the last moment to keep the sound from escaping. The Pharaoh kissed him again, wrapping his arms around Yugi to hold him close as he thrust, Yugi moving with him.

The pace was too fast for either of them to last long, Yugi succumbing first with a gasp, his body jerking slightly as he climaxed. The Pharaoh tensed at the breathy sigh that Yugi gave, catching his name in the little exhalation and that was all he needed to send him over the edge as well, gritting his teeth to keep from crying out. He managed to hold himself up for a moment more before he collapsed on top of Yugi, feeling his companion snuggle up close.

Silence reigned between them, the Pharaoh catching his breath and becoming aware that Yugi was placing light kisses all over his neck, sometimes stopping to lick at a certain spot before moving on. The Time Lord allowed Yugi to continue the leisurely activity for a while before he pulled out of Yugi, falling over to his side and gathering his companion close.

Yugi glanced over his shoulder before rolling onto his other side, facing the Pharaoh. The Time Lord looked down into Yugi's sleepy eyes, smiling and pressing a kiss to the human's forehead. Apparently, that was permission enough for Yugi to wiggle into a comfortable position, falling asleep with his head pillowed on the Pharaoh's shoulder. The Time Lord smiled down at his companion, reaching for the sheet before pulling it over them, cuddling Yugi close.

To his surprise, he felt tired, the Pharaoh assuming it was because of the physical sensation; one that his kind had not experienced for a long while. He ignored the urge to analyze everything that had happened, preferring to wrap his arms tightly around Yugi and drift into a partial doze, lulled into his complacent state by the warmth of Yugi at his side.


	26. Breaking the Seal

** Chapter Twenty-Five: Breaking the Seal **

_"For how should man die better  
Than facing fearful odds  
For the ashes of his father  
And the temples of his gods?"  
-Mr. Jefferson_

Toby flipped the piece of pottery in his hand again, tipping his head to stare at the symbols from his new angle before smiling and setting the piece down. Carefully, he nudged it towards the two other pieces that he had laid out on his desk, his smile widening when they fit together. Toby breathed a sigh of relief before raising his arms over his head and stretching his back, glancing at the pile that he had yet to assemble and feeling the muscles in his neck throb in pain. It would be a long night if he continued but, then again, he had other duties on the base. He glanced back at his bed before promising himself one more piece. If he could get this started, then he could finish during his free time tomorrow. He reminded himself to thank the Pharaoh for taking over laundry duties.

He glanced at the pile of pottery shards, absently sorting through them as he looked for an edge or fragments of symbols that he could match up, feeling the loss of his computer acutely. If this had been his lab back at the Archives, then he would just scan all these pieces in and be done within hours instead of days. And he would have had the help of some eager graduate students, another thing that he missed. But this chance had been too good to turn up.

Toby picked up a likely shard and held it up to the light, turning it in his hand, his mind elsewhere. It had been the chance of a lifetime to come to Krop Tor and investigate the Valtino. The race had been his pet subject from his university years, Toby frustrated on the lack of information on them. They had been a great race from what little they had found, but they had just disappeared, leaving no reason for their disappearance. But here he had a chance to find out why they disappeared and evidence to begin to figure out how they lived their lives. It was any archeologists' dream, which was why he had taken the chance.

The death of the captain had been unexpected, not that Zachary was a bad captain. It was just that the shock of having the original captain die had thrown them all out of sorts, they had struggled enough with putting the station together and living with one another for those few weeks. Now, thankfully, there was a sort of tenuous truce; although Danny and Scooti still didn't spend more time with him than necessary. Toby just shrugged the thought away. It didn't matter to him, it just meant more time with his studies. Besides, he didn't mind being alone, it was more peaceful that way.

He turned the piece of pottery in his hands before reaching for the next likely candidate, biting back a yawn. Toby gave a long sigh before staring at the piece, quickly deciding that it wouldn't fit. He glanced up at the clock on his desk before reaching for the light. It was better to just go to sleep now; he would at least get a good night's sleep before he started work tomorrow. There was no telling what Zachary would ask him to do, despite his protests that he was just an archeologist; that was all that he had signed on for.

Toby sat back and ran a hand through his hair, stretching again before preparing to stand up. He stopped as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up; feeling like something was watching him. Toby tensed, staring down at the pottery on the table, one hand resting on the piece that he was putting together. This had been happening to him more often, the feeling of something behind him. Sometimes, he swore that he could hear someone whispering his name or a breath on the back of his neck. He shivered, slowly standing up. "Danny, is that you? This isn't funny."

He shifted, about to turn around and yell at the younger member of the crew, stopping dead when a deep voice spoke from behind him. "Don't turn around."

"W-who are you?" Toby licked his lips, trying to see behind him from the corner of his eye, tensing as he felt a puff of hot air against his neck.

"I have many names."

Toby frowned, trying to ignore the shivers that were running down his spine, shifting slightly. "That doesn't answer my question."

He froze at a growl, staring at the wall. For a moment, he thought he saw a shadow on the wall, but then it was gone as quickly as it came. His attention moved back to the voice as it spoke again. "Don't turn around. If you look at me, you will die."

"B-but who are you?"

There was a rumble like thunder, Toby flinching away before he realized that the voice was laughing. Toby gasped and scooted closer to the desk as he felt the puffs of air move across the back of his neck. "I'm behind you, Toby. I'm right behind you."

Toby went to turn around, freezing in the middle of the action as the voice spoke again. "Don't look! Don't look at me. One look and you will die. I'm reaching out, Toby. I'm so close. Don't turn around. Oh… I can touch you!"

"Get away!" He turned around completely, breathing quickly as he stared at the small room that he was in. Toby swallowed nervously, wrapping his arms around himself as he realized that he was alone in his room. A chill ran down his spine, Toby gasping and turning around to lean heavily on the desk, feeling slightly nauseous in his fear. That had been too much. And yet, Toby didn't think that it was a prank, Danny wouldn't go to that extreme to make him jump. There was something going on here.

He heaved a sigh, feeling his frantic heartbeat slow. Toby rubbed a hand across his forehead, feeling sweat there, not surprised by its presence. Only when he was sure that he had a full handle on himself did Toby laugh, straightening up slightly. Well, he certainly wasn't going to fall back asleep after that, so it wouldn't hurt him to work some more. He could always beg off later to catch a nap in the Habitation Unit if he needed to. Toby reached down for his pieces of pottery only to pause in shock.

All of them were blank, every shard missing the writing that had been scattered on them.

Toby gasped, the sound more like a sob, as he fell forward onto his hands to stare at the fragments. His mind couldn't comprehend what had happened, just staring at the pieces of pottery that could have helped him. There was no way this could have happened, he had analyzed everything about them before taking them out of the bags that they had been collected in. He even kept his room colder than normal just in case it was too much for them. He ducked his head, fighting back the tears and reminding himself it was a stupid thing to cry over. It wasn't like his salary depended on him translating the pieces. He could always just fit them back together and prove that the Valtino still did exist. But it was still a harsh blow.

He reached out to turn a piece over, hoping vaguely that there would be something on the other side, only to have nothing there. Toby sighed and went to set the piece down, reaching up to rub his forehead. He paused when he saw something on the palm of his hand, something like a stain. Toby frowned and flipped his hand over. Scrawled over it in black were the symbols that had just been on the pieces of pottery.

Close to hyperventilating, Toby flipped over his other hand, the symbols on that palm as well. He swallowed nervously, closing his eyes and flipping his palms. He took a few calming breaths, trying to convince himself that it was just a figment of his imagination. He had been pushing himself these last few nights. Toby took a deep breath before opening his eye, nearly falling backwards as he saw that the symbols had moved up to his arms. He shivered before lunging for the mirror on his desk, staring at the shaky image before he managed to calm himself down.

Red eyes stared back at him, his entire face painted with the symbols, Toby recognizing a few words here and there. He shook his head, closing his eyes and trying to will the image away, opening them gingerly a moment later only to find that the horrible image remained.

Toby nearly threw the mirror down, stumbling away from his desk and pointing at the mirror, unaware that he was whispering "No" over and over again. He stumbled over his own feet, his body jerking wildly as he felt something hot and horrible rush through him, Toby reaching up to claw at his throat before falling to his knees, coughing up black smoke until he collapsed onto the floor, trying to take a breath as his world went dark.

* * *

Scooti tried to sneak down the hallways as quietly as she could, that task nearly impossible with the metal floor; but they were all too used to the sound of the station creaking as the systems passed overhead to be eaten by the black hole. She knew that she had stayed up too late, but she and Danny had been talking in his room, comparing jokes and life stories. It was that little bit of normalcy that kept her sane on this station. The thought of Danny made her smile, Scooti shaking her head at the thought of the young man. But the problem was he was too much of a distraction at times.

She looked down at the papers in her hand, the papers that she was supposed to deliver hours ago. Scooti winced before looking down the hall, smirking as she passed the door to the room that Yugi and the Pharaoh had claimed. She paused for a moment, standing outside the door long enough to hear the sound of whispers before moving on, trying to wipe the smile from her face. She and Danny had discussed their new crew members, finally settling on a bet and it looked like she would be collecting. There was no way those two could be so close and not be lovers.

She sighed and continued down the hall, her smile fading as she reached Toby's room. Scooti glanced down at the papers in her hand before knocking on the door. There was silence from the other side after her knock but, knowing Toby, he was either too focused on his work to hear her or already asleep. Scooti rolled her eyes before reaching for the intercom to the room. Toby had to get his account papers to keep his own calculations since they were beyond all communications with the main Archives. She rubbed her forehead, this just a reminder that she had her own calculations to handle. Scooti sighed and pressed the button on the intercom. "Toby? Toby are you in there?"

There was silence, Scooti looking around before pouting. "Toby, come on, I want to sleep!"

"Door forty-one, closing." Scooti blinked, glancing down the hallway before staring at Toby's door. She mouthed the name of the door before turning away from Toby's door and walking down the hallway. The papers fell to her hand and fluttered to the floor as she rushed to the nearest door, roughly shoving it open. Scooti ignored the soft tone of the door and rushed to the next door. On the front panel the number forty-one stood out in bright white paint, Scooti ignoring it as she peered out the window, through the airlock and onto the surface of the asteroid.

Nothing was out there, Scooti tipping her head to the side and tapping her nails against the metal before reaching out to the intercom. "Computer, did anyone go outside?"

"Yes."

"Alright, who?" The computer was silent after the question, Scooti staring at it before sighing and rubbing her head. "Then…which spacesuit is missing?"

"No spacesuit is missing."

"But you said someone had gone out."

"Yes."

Scooti stared at the computer before shaking her head, reaching down to roll her sleeve back from her wrist to expose her communicator. "That's impossible; no one can be out there without a suit." She pressed a button on her communicator, sighing before beginning to speak. "Zachary, door forty-one is malfunctioning. Zachary? Captain Cross Flaine?"

The communicator made a faint buzzing noise before shutting off, Scoot giving it a sharp tap before shaking her head. "Stupid technology. Computer."

"Yes."

"Run a scan for the error."

"There is no error."

Scooti groaned and rubbed her eyes. It was too late to be arguing with computers, but it was her job to make sure that everything worked. She slumped against the nearest wall, staring at the door before shaking her head. "Look, no one can go outside without a suit and there isn't one out so there must be an error. Scan for that error."

"He is awake."

"What?" She pushed away from the wall, staring at the door before reaching out to touch it. "Who's awake?"

"He is awake. He bathes in the black sun."

"The black sun?" Scooti backed away from the door. She would get out of this section and lock it down, it had probably just been damaged in the quake; another thing to go on the list of things to fix. Of course, now with an assistant, she would be able to move faster.

She ran a hand through her hair before turning to walk back down the corridor, realizing that she wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight. Hopefully her new assistant would get more sleep that she had. Scooti blinked at the sound of the shield over the window rising. She turned, staring as the surface of the asteroid was revealed, her mouth falling open as she saw that Toby was out standing on the surface without his spacesuit. He had his head tipped up, his arms spread and looking like he was basking in the sunlight, except there was no sun.

Scooti went to run, freezing when Toby turned around, her heart beating faster as she met his gaze. Toby smirked, his red eyes narrowing as he gestured for her to come to him. She stared at the markings on his arms and face, recognizing them from the ones that he had been studying. Scooti glanced down, only then realizing that she had been reaching out for the window, taking a sharp breath and pulling her hand back, cradling it close to her body as she stumbled backwards. "No…no you can't be out there!"

Toby sneered at her, the hand that he had used to gesture to her slowly turning into a fist. Scooti shook her head, not sure was she was refusing. She jumped at the sound of a crack, her eyes jumping to the small crack in the glass that was slowly getting wider. Scooti glanced back up at Toby, her breath catching in her throat as she realized that he was smiling.

She turned, leaping for the door back into the living quarters, trying to open the door. Scooti growled as the door wouldn't open, wrestling with the wheel to get it open before slamming down on the button and screaming into the com. "Open door forty! Open door forty!"

More cracks were appearing in the window, Scooti sure that Toby was laughing at her now. She pounded on the door, nearly sobbing now as the door still resisted. Her hands fumbled on the wheel as she tried to turn in, her vision blurring as tears came to her eyes. "No, no no! Please, open door forty! Please, please! I don't want to die!"

The glass cracked completely, Scooti's last word turning into a scream as she was pulled out through the window.

* * *

Yugi hummed and ran his hands down the Pharaoh's back, pausing at a small bump between the Time Lord's shoulders. He blinked and ran his fingers over it again, laughing as he realized what it was. He glanced back at the Pharaoh as the Time Lord opened one eye. "What are you laughing at?"

"You have a mole between your shoulders."

"And?"

"I just didn't notice it before."

The Pharaoh stared at him before shaking his head, leaning forward to kiss Yugi's cheek before returning to resting his head on Yugi's shoulder. "You're just all smiles tonight."

"I'm sorry; I'm just feeling really good."

"Thanks."

Yugi tried to hit the Pharaoh, too relaxed to move. Besides, he didn't want the Pharaoh's comfortable weight to move off of him. Yugi just sighed and turned to rest his cheek against the top of the Pharaoh's head, returning to his gentle strokes of the Time Lord's back, enjoying the content sigh that it drew out of the Time Lord. "Of course you would take that as a complement."

"Considering all we have been doing, yes." Yugi rolled his eyes before shifting slightly to get more comfortable, groaning in disappointment when the move made the Pharaoh slip out of him. He moved his arms as the Pharaoh rolled off of him, the Time Lord pulling Yugi back against his chest. Yugi shivered as kisses were placed on his neck, tipping his head back to give the Pharaoh more access. He held back a moan as the Time Lord ran a hand over his chest.

"I need sleep."

"I'm not trying to encourage you."

Yugi turned to him and raised an eyebrow, surprised to see the Time Lord looking sheepish.

The Pharaoh's retort was cut off by the cheerful ring of his phone, the human frowning and leaning forward to stare at his jeans. Sometime during the night shift they had fallen to the floor, Yugi biting his lip before reaching down to root around in his pocket for his phone. The Pharaoh steadied him as he leaned over, Yugi grabbing his phone and pulling it out. He frowned as he saw that it was Junri calling, glancing up at the signal bars and raising an eyebrow as he saw that it was at full strength. He glanced back at the Pharaoh before raising the cell phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"He is awake."

Yugi yelped and dropped the phone to the floor, sitting up quickly in bed to stare at the device. He felt the Pharaoh shift behind him, the Time Lord resting a hand on his hip. Yugi blinked before carefully picking up the cell phone again, surprised to find that it was dead. He held it up for the Pharaoh to look at, the Time Lord accepting the cell phone, turning it over in his hands. "It shouldn't work; we're too far out, too close to that black hole and whatever is under this asteroid."

"Then why was I able to hear something?"

The Pharaoh sat up straighter. "What did it say?"

"He is awake." Yugi watch the Pharaoh work over the words before flinging the covers off and stepping onto the floor, gathering his clothes and putting them on. Yugi resisted the urge to pout, rolling out of bed before dressing himself. "Where are we going?"

"The Ood have been saying odd things." The Pharaoh finished buttoning up his shirt, snatching his collar from where it dangled precariously on the desk. He buckled it on before straightening his shirt and smiling at Yugi. "How about starting there?"

Yugi nodded, quickly zipping up his pants before tugging his shirt on. He reached for his jacket, snatching it off the back of the chair before cramming his feet into his shoes and rushing out of the door after the Pharaoh, ducking back into their room to grab his cell phone and shove it into his pocket. Yugi jogged after the Pharaoh, falling into step beside the Time Lord as he strode down the hall.

How the Pharaoh knew where the Ood were kept, Yugi didn't know, but the Time Lord seemed to be striding confidently ahead. Yugi would have gotten lost in the nearly endless corridors of the Sanctuary Base. He sighed and reached for the Pharaoh's hand, unable to stop the smile from crossing his face as the Time Lord's fingers caressed the back of his hand. He stepped closer to the Pharaoh, letting their sides brush against each other as they moved through the corridors.

Yugi glanced around at the empty corridors, the creaking of the metal base seeming more sinister now that they were alone. He glanced around before clearing his throat, the Pharaoh looking back at Yugi immediately with the small sound. "Will anyone be with the Ood?"

"Probably not. All intelligent people will be asleep. Days are hard on a Sanctuary Base." The Pharaoh chuckled at his own remark before turning for a door, staring at it before opening and sneaking through. Yugi wasn't surprised when they walked into a large open room, Yugi turning his head to look down to where the Ood were sitting. He winced at the state of their living quarters, the Ood just sitting up against metal grates and seeming to be asleep. Yugi frowned and walked over to the railing, staring down at the Ood.

"And they just leave them like this?"

He looked up as the Pharaoh walked over to the railing to look over, giving the Ood a glance over before moving to the nearby computer. "They're a basic slave race."

"Pharaoh!"

"What?" The Time Lord turned around to look at him, holding his hands up in a sign of surrender. "I didn't mean that as an insult. The people literally think of them as a slave race. Basic refers to their physic level."

Yugi hesitated before walking over to the computer, staring at the screen before turning to look at the Ood again. "Physic level?"

The Pharaoh nodded, glancing between the keyboard and the screen. "The Ood are a physic race, hence the translator ball, it plugs directly into their brain. But they're a low level race, and this isn't…"

Yugi rested a hand on the Pharaoh's shoulder, peering at the screen from his vantage point. He raised an eyebrow at the reading on the screen, watching as the number displayed went from ten to twenty-five. He frowned and looked back down at the still Ood, shaking his head. "Is that bad?"

"Very. Thirty and still climbing. It's like they're screaming in their heads." The Pharaoh pushed away from the screen to lean on the railing, staring down at the Ood and sighing. "It makes no sense. Any higher and they should be dead, but they wouldn't do this on their own."

"Are they sick?"

"No. Physic diseases would have symptoms too." The Pharaoh ran a hand through his hair, looking back over at Yugi. "What did your phone say again?"

"My phone?" Yugi shivered at the reminder, reaching his hand into his pocket to hold onto the plastic casing. "It said that he is awake."

"And you will worship him." Yugi started as the Ood spoke, finding that all the aliens were looking at them. He shivered and took a step back, watching as the Pharaoh pushed himself up on the railing, staring down at the Ood.

"He is awake."

"And you will worship him."

The Pharaoh shrugged and looked over at Yugi, the human rubbing his arms. "Creepy."

The Time Lord just nodded, backing away from the railing and glancing at the computer screen again. "Definitely not a virus. But there seems to be something behind this." The Pharaoh tapped the screen before sighing. "But what?"

"Could it have something to do with what they're digging for?" Yugi ducked his head as the Pharaoh glanced at him, ready to be told off. When the scolding didn't come he looked up, surprised to see the Pharaoh was looking at him intently. Yugi cleared his throat, glancing at the Ood before continuing. "The people who lived here before had a story about a demon, maybe it was an explanation for something else. The old myths from Earth were for explaining things, why not this?"

"Good point." The Pharaoh smiled before leaning over to kiss Yugi's forehead. "I knew there was a reason that I kept you around."

"It wasn't just for my good looks?" Yugi smiled at that, blushing at the look that the Pharaoh gave him, the Time Lord finally looking away with a chuckle.

"That's another good reason." The Pharaoh reached out for his hand, the two of them tumbling to the floor as the station rocked with an impact. Yugi felt the Pharaoh collide with him, wrapping his arms around the Time Lord and rolling as they hit the floor, curling up against him as the station rocked again, wincing when his back knocked against a support of the railing. The rocking stopped soon after, Yugi glancing up cautiously when all was still. He untangled himself from the Time Lord, pushing up from the ground to look at the Ood, noticing that they had been thrown all over the place as well, some of them beginning to stir.

He looked up as the intercom crackled, Yugi carefully getting to his feet and reaching out for the Pharaoh. "All human staff report to the corridor outside of Habitation Three. This is a direct order from your captain, report to the corridor outside of Habitation Three. Another impact is due soon."

Yugi pushed away from the railing, grabbing onto the Pharaoh's hand and helping him upright before pulling him towards the corridor towards Habitation Three. He shoved the Pharaoh through the door, turning around to slam the door shut, watching as the Ood slowly advanced up the stairs. Yugi swallowed nervously before turning to take off down the corridor, the Pharaoh falling into step beside him. They raced down the corridors, stumbling as the rocking of the base started up again.

He winced as he ran into a wall, rubbing his aching shoulder before stumbling forward again. Yugi reached out for the Pharaoh's hand, latching onto it as they stumbled into Habitation Three. He turned around in a circle, yelping as the Pharaoh pulled him towards the right door, the Time Lord holding it open so Yugi could tumble through. Yugi grunted as he landed on the metal floor, rubbing his elbow before turning onto his back, watching as Toby leapt through the door before the Pharaoh slammed it shut.

The Time Lord leaned back against the door, panting for breath as Yugi tipped his head back, closing his eyes for a moment. He opened his eyes again as he heard someone running down the corridor a towards them. Ida gave them a small wave, stumbling over to lean against the wall to keep herself upright, rubbing at an eye. "Zachary told me to head down here, he's checking up on the base from there. Everyone here?"

Yugi looked up as the rest of the crew gave lazy waves, counting heads before slowly standing up. "Where's Scooti?"

"Scooti?" Danny looked up, shocked. "I just finished talking to her. She was going to talk to Toby."

"I haven't seen her." Toby ducked his head. "I mean, I was just working on some pots and then…then I must have fallen asleep."

Ida sighed, rolling up her sleeve. "Scooti, report." There was a long pause, everyone in the corridor shifting nervously. Ida rolled her eyes before talking into the communicator again. "Scooti, report."

There was silence on the other end, Yugi edging toward the door the longer that it went on. Suddenly, there was a crackle from the intercom, Yugi jumping at the sound of Zachary cursing before the captain got the intercom to work. "The equipment up here is a bit touchy now, something must have happened. But I've got her communicator signal. She's in Habitation Three."

Yugi glanced up at the ceiling before looking at the door. They had been one of the last ones in from Habitation Three, but they hadn't seen Scooti when they had rushed through, he had barely seen Toby. He frowned and tried to see through the small window, turning his head from side to side to try and see if Scooti was in there. A hand on his shoulder made him back away, Yugi stepping back into the Pharaoh's embrace as Jefferson went to open the door. He tried not to jump with every creaking sound that the wheel made, shivering as the Pharaoh rubbed his fingers over the human's stomach in an attempt to calm him.

The door inched open, Jefferson letting go of it to walk into the room. Yugi pulled out of the Pharaoh's embrace, darting up the short flight of stairs that let to the small upper level of the room, checking the nooks and crannies that were there for Scooti, reaching up to pull himself up, only to pull down the lever that opened the panels. He gave an apologetic smile before going back to his search, leaving the lever in its position to keep himself from making the mistake again. After a momentary pause, the others went back to their searching.

Yugi paused when he saw that the Pharaoh was standing in the middle of the room looking up. He blinked and walked to the rail that ran along the edge, leaning on it. The Time Lord didn't move, shifting slightly but still looking up. Yugi reached out for him, stopping as he watched the others search before looking at the Pharaoh. "Pharaoh?"

"I found her." Yugi shivered at the tone of voice that the Pharaoh used, letting his arm drop back against the rail before looking up, jumping backwards as he saw Scooti.

She was floating above them, being pulled slowly back towards the black hole. He put a hand over his mouth, shivering at the look of shock and fear that had been frozen on her face. Yugi didn't hear the Pharaoh walk up to kneel by him, jumping when the Time Lord wrapped his arms around him, looking back up at Scooti and shaking his head. "How did this happen to her?"

"Ida?" He looked down at the scientist, watching as she fumbled for her communicator.

"Z-zachary, we found her. She's outside…dead." Ida cleared her throat, managing to steady her voice. "Are there any breeches reported."

"No…yes, one just coming in now. Damn this system, it's so touchy!" Yugi heard Zachary grumble something under his breath. "Between doors forty and forty-one. We'll check it out later but now-"

Yugi sucked in a breath as it suddenly went silent, perfectly silent. In the hours that he had spent here, he had gotten used to the sound of the drill going nearly constantly. For it to suddenly stop left it suddenly silent. He cleared his throat, watching the others in the base react to the lack of sound. He stood up slowly, staring down at the floor, the Pharaoh holding him close. "The drill stopped."

"All staff report to the drill room, we have reached out destination. I repeat, we have reached out destination." Zachary gave a short whoop before they heard the door open and shut. Yugi glanced down at the rest of the crew, watching as they rushed away, talking excitedly, but it was still muted. Scooti should have been here for this, but she was floating away into space. He sighed and pulled away from the Pharaoh, reaching for the lever to shut the panels again.

He stared at the wall, a shiver running down his spine. "Pharaoh…"

"I know." The Time Lord wrapped his arms around Yugi, holding him close and kissing the back of his neck. "I know, Yugi."

"So what now?" Yugi let his hands slide down until they rested on the Pharaoh's, feeling the Time Lord shift behind him.

"We…we get a ride to the nearest planet when they leave and we get you settled."

"Us. You mean us." Yugi frowned, turning around in the Pharaoh's arms. "Unless…"

"No." The Pharoah reached up to push Yugi's bangs away from his face. "No, I don't intend to leave you alone. But I can't just…"

"I understand." The Pharaoh wouldn't leave the TARDIS if he could help it. The Time Lord would probably spend the rest of his time here trying to find the TARDIS again. Yugi wrapped his arms around the Pharaoh and held him close. "But we should probably go with the others, just to see what's going on."

The Pharaoh stared at some point beyond Yugi before nodding slowly. "Just, go on ahead. I'll catch up."

Yugi let the Time Lord go before heading down to the drill room, pausing at the door to look back at the Pharaoh, watching the Time Lord pace before he came to a stop. Yugi sighed and brushed his fingers over the door, walking back into the corridors.

* * *

The Pharaoh stared at the yellow helmet in front of him, resting a hand against it with a long sigh. He didn't want to do this, he wanted to pretend that nothing was wrong and just stand by Yugi as they watched the team explore what they found with the drill. But there was a chance that he could find his TARDIS, and just as much of a chance that he wouldn't be able to find it. And then there was the feeling that he had to do this, that it was important somehow; especially with all the odd messages that they had been getting. The Pharaoh took a deep breath before picking up the helmet and turning to walk from the room, shouldering open the door to the drill room.

He paused as he stepped into the room, watching the people and Ood rush about before spotting the captain. He took a deep breath before stepping out into the room, forcing himself to look like he was unaffected by everything that was going on. The Pharaoh spotted Yugi out of the corner of his eye, but ignored his companion for now, heading right for the captain, watching Zachary stop in surprise. The Pharaoh gave the captain a lopsided smile before saluting. "One volunteer."

"No."

His hand wavered before dropping back to his side, the Pharaoh sighing and shaking his head. "I'm going down."

"I can't let you. I should be going down, I'm the captain. Besides, you're an unknown, I can't trust you."

"You'll have to, because the others need you here." The Pharaoh rested a hand on Zachary's shoulder. "Listen, the captain can't lead the mission, he has to stay behind and supervise."

"But I…" Zachary looked away before nodding, motioning him on, slumping back to the door that led up to the control room. The Pharaoh watched him go before shifting his grip on the helmet, settling it on his hip before walking to where the others waited. Ida gave him a sideways glance, the science officer also wearing the orange suit of the Sanctuary Base. She just stared at him before slipping into the capsule, the Pharaoh turning as he felt a hand on his arm.

"So, you're going down?" Yugi moved closer to him.

"Yes." The Pharaoh turned around, resting his free hand on Yugi's waist. "I just have to Yugi."

"I understand."

"Do you?" The Pharaoh tipped his head to the side. "You don't have to keep saying that if you don't believe it."

"But I do." Yugi bit his lip and nodded. "I know that you're looking for the TARDIS and whatever is down there and I won't stop you. Just remember that you promised to be stuck with me."

"Like I could forget." The Pharaoh smirked and leaned over to give Yugi a brief kiss before pulling his helmet on. He settled it over his head, twisting it slightly until it caught, a slight hiss signaling that the helmet was secure. The Pharaoh looked back down at Yugi before pulling his companion into a hug. "Don't wander off."

"Only if you come back safe." Yugi hugged him tightly before stepping back to kiss the visor over where the Pharaoh's forehead was. The Pharaoh smiled and pushed the bangs out of Yugi's face, resting his gloved hand against Yugi's face, wishing that he could feel his companion's skin.

"See you."

"You'd better." Yugi shook a finger at him before backing away, the Pharaoh stepping back before walking back into the capsule, turning around as the door was shut. Yugi smiled and gave a shy little wave before walking back to a safe distance, the Pharaoh watching him as the capsule trembled before beginning to travel down the shaft. He kept eye contact with Yugi until they disappeared, the Pharaoh letting his head drop with a sigh.

"It's always hard to leave the ones that we love." He glanced over at Ida as she smiled at him. "We were trying to figure out what you two were. It seems like some of us will be getting richer."

The Pharaoh ignored her, looking up as Zachary's voice came over the intercom. "You're beyond the oxygen shield now. You're on your own."

He activated his respiratory bypass, holding that breath for as long as he could before switching his oxygen on. It would give him ten more minutes than Ida, a habit from every time he had to use oxygen tanks. He usually ended up using up nearly all of his oxygen during times like this, mostly because he ended up getting into trouble. Maybe Yugi was right to worry about him. The Pharaoh pushed the thought out of his mind before turning on the oxygen, breathing out slowly and he turned towards the front of the capsule.

A smile crossed his face as he heard Yugi's voice come over the intercom. "Just breathe, alright."

"Yugi…get off the intercom." The Pharaoh laughed at Zachary's comment, flashing a smile at Ida as they listened to Yugi and Zachary argue over the intercom. Ida just rolled her eyes with a smile, turning her attention back to the read out on her wrist. The Pharaoh tipped his head back, resting his head back against the side of the capsule, listening to them argue.

"Listen, Captain, you'll have to drag me away from this…Toby, stop feeling me up! I don't care if you're trying to get me away. I'm staying. Yes, I am this annoying."

"He's got spunk, your little Yugi." He glanced over at Ida and shook his head.

"He's not mine." The Pharaoh laughed. "He's entirely his own."

"If anything, he's mine." The Pharaoh laughed as Yugi's voice came in over the intercom, jerking a bit as the capsule hit the bottom of the shaft, the intercom fizzling out after a moment. The Pharaoh blinked at the sound before opening the door to the capsule and walking out into the hug cavern that they had dropped into. Ida followed him, reaching down for a ball that was on her belt, fiddling with it for a moment before tossing it up into the air, the ball hovering at eye level for a moment before rising. Ida smiled back at him before walking forward.

"It's a gravity globe. It should give us enough life to work with." Ida shrugged before looking around and gasping. The Pharaoh followed her gaze, his mouth dropping open in shock as he stared at the huge carved beasts that seemed to guard the entrance to some deeper chamber. He tipped his head back to look up at the arch between the sentinels, staring at the carvings that covered it, vines and cavorting animals that looked like deer.

He found himself smiling and walking slowly forward, glancing back at Ida before reaching for his communicator. "Yugi, tell Toby we found his civilization."

"Hear that, Toby?" There was a pause, the Pharaoh hearing muttering for a bit before Yugi turned back to the intercom. "Could you get pictures?"

"No. There's no way. I could probably do a quick sketch when we get back up." The Pharaoh shrugged and walked on, Ida fumbling for her flashlight as the Pharaoh raised his to light his way. He stepped under the arch, pausing to look at the carvings that ran up either side, the motif of vines and animals continuing. He smiled to himself before walking further on, surprised when the next chamber wasn't decorated. He frowned and walked towards one of the walls, running a gloved hand over the wall, feeling the slight raised surface where there might have been a carving once. The Pharaoh sighed before looking away, his eyes falling on the raised stone design on the ground.

He pushed away from the wall and walked over to the stone, tipping his head to the side and staring at it. It was a circle made entirely of stone. The outer edge had raised symbols on it, the Pharaoh raising his flashlight to see the symbols better, recognizing them from the few that Toby had written on the wall. He leaned over to run his fingers over one of the symbols as he stared at the simple carving that made up the center of the seal, just raised dots. The Pharaoh shook his head and pushed back from the seal, a bit unnerved by the sudden need to pull it open, to see what was inside of it. He rolled his shoulders and took another step back, Ida taking his place.

"This is amazing." She reached down to brush her hand over the symbols before leaning over to touch the seal. "I never imagined that something like this could be down here. Do you think the civilization left something that our sensors picked up? If it did, it would be a huge leap forward for science!"

"Yeah, and a leap forward for new ways to kill." The Pharaoh sighed, about to turn around to examine the walls again when the ground moved. He tried to keep his balance but ended up falling over, pushing off the ground to look back towards the seal, looking at Ida as she pushed herself away. "What's happening?"

"The seal is opening!"

The Pharaoh pushed himself upright, reaching for his communicator and trying to balance himself against the trembling of the ground. "Yugi? Yugi, answer me!"

* * *

"No. There's no way. I could probably do a quick sketch when we get back up." Yugi sighed and let the hand that held the communicator rest on the console, glancing around at the rest of the people that were around them. Jefferson was leaning on the railing and Toby was sitting close by. The latter didn't look pleased by the fact that his civilization had just been found; he was just shivering and staring at his hands.

Yugi scowled and went to kneel by Toby. "You alright?"

"Y-yeah." Toby's voice shook over the word, the archeologist returning to staring at the ground, unable to meet Yugi's gaze.

"Hey Zachary, the Ood are staring at me." Yugi looked over at the computer, raising an eyebrow as he heard Zachary laugh.

"You can deal with a little staring."

"Not when they're at basic one hundred."

"One…they should be dead then!"

Yugi blinked, glancing back at Jefferson as he shifted his grip on the gun, about to ask him what was going on when there were screams from over the intercom, Danny's voice filtering through. "They've killed a guard with the translator ball!"

"This is all my fault." Yugi looked back at Toby, watching as the man curled up on himself. He lifted a hand to rest on Toby's shoulders when the man jerked away, Yugi falling backwards as Toby stood up. He shivered at the red eyes that looked down at him, glancing at the symbols that were written all over Toby's skin. Yugi scrambled backwards, lunging for the communicator.

"Pharaoh, something is wrong with Toby!" There was static on the other end, Yugi staring at the device before letting it drop, turning around to face Toby as he walked forward; stopping when Jefferson turned the gun on him.

"So you would shoot me?" Toby gave a strange hissing laugh. "And I bet you wouldn't feel guilt about it. But something still nags at you still. Has your wife forgiven you, soldier? Can you answer me that?"

Jefferson's gun wavered for a moment, but it stayed trained on Toby. Toby just leaned back a bit, smirking at him. "Well then, my legions will fight if you want to kill."

He breathed out, Toby's eyes flickering closed as he collapsed to the floor. Yugi ducked out of the way, even though he couldn't see anything that came from Toby. He rolled on the floor, wincing as his back hit the console, staring up at the Ood as they twitched. He scrambled to his feet, hurrying over to Toby to help him up as the Ood began to move forward, their eyes red. Jefferson scrambled at his gun as they advanced. Yugi looked up as Zachary's voice came over the intercom, the whole base shuddering suddenly. "We're losing the gravity tunnel! We're falling into the black hole."

"No!" Yugi took a step back, nearly tripping over Toby as the man fell to the floor again, looking up at the Ood as the began to speak as one.

"The pit is open and the Beast is free."


	27. The Satan Pit

** Chapter Twenty-Six: The Satan Pit **

_"I am the rage and the bile and the velocity. I am the prince and the fall of the enemy. I am the sin and the fear of darkness…I shall never die. The thought of me is forever, in the bleeding hearts of men, in their vanity and obsession. Nothing shall ever destroy me. Nothing!"  
-The Beast_

Yugi clamped his hands over his ears as Jefferson opened fire on the Ood, kneeling on the floor by Toby until the gunshots stopped. Only then did he try to look up, breathing a sigh of relief when the Ood were dead on the floor. He stood up carefully, jumping when the door was jerked open. Jefferson turned around, the gun pointed at Danny as he rushed into the room. The young man yelped and held up his hands. "Hey, hey, it's just me!"

"You could have identified yourself." Jefferson sighed and lowered the gun, gesturing for Danny to come in. Danny nodded and shut the door, rushing in and jumping over the dead Ood on the floor.

"The Ood went mad, all the other security staff is dead. It's only us left up here."

Yugi blinked, grabbing for the railing as the trembling of the ground stopped, staring up at the roof of the drill room. "It's stopped. The gravity thing must have come back."

"Is anyone still up there?"

"Pharaoh!" Yugi lunged for the communicator, smiling as he stood up and looked at the few people that he had in the room. "We're still up here, still alive. How about you?"

"Same, but the seal we found opened."

"Yeah, felt that. The gravity thing collapsed for a moment there." He heard the Pharaoh hum, licking his lips and looking back at the rest of them. "And something went wrong with the Ood. They said something about a beast and the pit."

"We have the pit, it was under the seal. But the Beast…"

"We might have that here; something took over Toby and the Ood." Yugi glanced over at Toby, the archeologist curled up on the floor again, looking like he was sobbing. Yugi glared at Jefferson before turning back to the console. "What's the plan?"

"No plan. We don't know enough. But if the Ood are infected, we should get out of here."

"But the power source…all of this…" Yugi jumped at the sound of Ida's voice over the intercom, forgetting that she was there as well. He blushed at his own slip, leaning on the console as he listened to the conversation going on. "There is no way we can just leave this."

"If the Ood are infected, then we get rid of them." Zachary spoke, Yugi hearing the tapping of the captain's fingers on the plastic of the console in the background. "We open the airlocks and let them out. Then we should probably get to the rocket. If the gravity tunnel failed once, it can fail again. We're aborting the mission."

"But, Zachary-"

"That's an order, Ida, return to the capsule and we get out of here as soon as possible."

Yugi was pushed aside as Jefferson reached for the communicator, the head of security taking a deep breath before talking. "How are you, captain?"

"I have a bolt gun with all of one bolt."

"Well, just stay there then, we'll come and get you. We can't tell where the Ood are now." Jefferson paused at a loud clunk from the door, the sound echoed by something over the intercom. Yugi turned to look at the door, his mouth falling open in shock as he sound repeated itself. "Your door will hold longer than ours."

"We're back in the capsule." The Pharaoh's voice came over the intercom, the sound of the Ood trying to break in stopping as the Time Lord spoke. "We're coming back up."

Jefferson reached over to hit a button, Yugi turning back to look at the winch, smiling at it began to rise. The Pharaoh would soon return and they could escape from the Ood, even though it disturbed him that they were just going to kill all of the Ood. He wanted to be able to save them, but he wouldn't know what to do with an infected Ood, he didn't know how to take care of them. He bit his lip, trying to reassure himself that he was right in thinking this. Yugi was distracted as the light flickered, looking up before freezing, shivering as the Ood outside of the door spoke.

"You struggle in vain to free yourselves here. I lurk in the darkness, I am the darkness. There will be no escape here."

"Name yourself!" Zachary was shouting over the intercom, the communicator dropping from Yugi's hands as he listened to the Ood. "I am Zachary Cross Flaine of Sanctuary Base Six representing the Torchwood Archive and I order you to name yourself."

"I have gone by many names in the past, too many to speak of. You know you I am, as does everyone on this tiny base. For simplicity, I am the devil."

"Which one?" Yugi relaxed a bit as the Pharaoh spoke up. "The universe has been busy, there are many devils now."

"I am all of them. The idea of me lingered since I was sealed before time."

"Before time! What do you mean before time? Nothing can be before time."

The Ood laughed. "Oh, but I was before time. I expected you to have a stronger religion, especially coming from such a great species. But, your kind rejected religion didn't they, Time Lord?"

"What?"

"I know you, killer of your own kind." Yugi heard the Pharaoh suck in a sharp breath at that, earning another chuckle from the Ood. "Yes, I understand you quite well, like I understand the captain, so scared of command, the soldier haunted by the eyes of his wife, the scientist who is still running from her daddy, the little boy who lied, the virgin and the lost boy so far away from home; the valiant child who will die in battle so very soon."

Yugi's eyes widened, staring at the console as he nearly fell over. He gripped the railing, trying to stay up. Faintly, over the intercom, he heard the Pharaoh speak up, the Time Lord sounding frightened. "What do you mean?"

"He will die and I will live. Nothing you try will change that, Time Lord." A roar echoed through the base, Yugi trembling and falling to his knees, panting for breath as he heard the others shouting around him. He groaned and curled up on the floor, pressing his hands over his ears as he felt the fragment in his mind activate. He opened his mouth to scream, no sound coming out as he felt warmth surge through him, his vision tinted with gold and his heart pounding quickly. Yugi flinched and tried to beat it back, digging his nails into the sides of his head as he felt the certainty of the Beast's words in his mind.

Not even the fragment of the time vortex was contradicting the Beast, and Yugi had looked through time. Some part of him remembered this coming even though he couldn't quite place it. He remembered his death; how events had started and how they had ended. Events had started here, with the voice of darkness calling out his end and it would end with his heart breaking as he screamed for the Pharaoh, he knew that. And, suddenly, he hated himself for falling in love with the Pharaoh, for sleeping with him. It would only hurt more as he reached his end.

"Yugi!" He choked on a sob, not aware that he had been crying. Yugi looked up, his vision wavering between normal and edged in gold, staring at the communicator that was lying on the ground. He groaned before reaching for it, grabbing onto it before drawing it back to him, shivering at the motion too more effort than it should have. Yugi licked his lips before bringing the communicator up, trying to muffle his own noises of distress.

"P-pharaoh?"

"Yugi, I can't get into the main intercom."

He turned slightly, hissing in pain with the move as the warmth quickly turned into unbearable heat. He was burning again. "T-talking. All of t-them."

"Yugi?"

"I'm fine." The words came out slightly slurred, not the reassurance that he wanted to give the Pharaoh. He shuddered again, clawing at his own shirt. He squeezed his eyes shut, just wanting all of this to stop. But the Pharaoh was counting on him. For now, the Time Lord was stuck in the drill shaft until he was pulled up and Yugi was right against the console. It wouldn't be too hard to just reach up and press the button to pull the Pharaoh up. He grunted as he shifted, managing to get to his hands and knees before collapsing again. He panted for breath, the panicked voices of the others fading in and out.

"Stay with me, Yugi." Yugi smiled faintly, shifting on the floor to better hear the Pharaoh. That was the one voice that he didn't want to lose track of. "What's happening?"

"Light…burning…" Yugi flinched, trying to swallow to ease his sore throat. "It hurts. It's killing me."

"It's not, Yugi, believe me, it's not."

"Pharaoh?"

"Listen to me, Yugi; it's just reacting to what that thing said. You can get it to calm down."

"No." Yugi shook his head, knowing that the Pharaoh couldn't see it. "No, this is it. I remember this from before. It feels right."

"What do you mean?"

"I remember my death, Pharaoh."

"You are not going to die! Try for me, Yugi, please!" The desperation in the Pharaoh's voice was enough to force him to focus, Yugi concentrating on the burning feeling and forcing it back to the corner of his mind. He gasped at the suddenness that it responded, unable to talk or breath for a moment before he coughed, staring at the dirty yellow paint of the console and listening to the others shouting around him. It was a while before he was aware that the Pharaoh was shouting for him. "Yugi? Yugi? Answer me!"

"I'm here." He paused to cough, slowly shifting into a kneeling position, having to lean on the console for support. "I'm alright."

"Thank Ra." The Pharaoh sighed, Yugi smiling to himself and taking slow, deep breaths to calm himself down. "You're not going to die, Yugi, not while I'm around. Now, I need to talk to the others."

"I'll try." Yugi went to stand up but hissed in pain, sinking back to the floor and gritting his teeth. He tried again, managing to catch onto the edge of the console before his grip slipped and he slid back to the floor. Yugi shook his head, biting his lip to stop a whimper of pain from escaping. "Uh…"

"You're hurt." He blinked in surprise, about to deny it when the Pharaoh cut him off. "I can feel you in my head, remember? I know you're hurt. Just rest there, I'll find a way to talk to them."

"I can do it-"

"Rest. I want you safe when I get back." Yugi found himself nodding, leaning back against the console with a sigh. He closed his eyes, smiling when he felt a slight fluttering at the edge of his mind, recognizing the Pharaoh's touch. The Time Lord was only making sure that he was alright, although the effort seemed strained. Even with their bond, it was probably hard at a distance. His head dropped slightly as he heard the Pharaoh sigh in relief over the communicator. "Rest."

Yugi was about to mumble a reply when he heard the Pharaoh's voice come over the intercom, the Time Lord taking advantage in a lull of frantic communications. "Quiet!"

The room fell silent, Yugi turning his head to look at the rest of the people in the room, watching as they all went still, listening to the Pharaoh's voice. "Good. Now, whatever that thing was is playing with us, drawing out our fears."

"But it knows things!"

The Pharaoh ignored Ida. "You can listen to it, or listen to me. If you listen to it, then you will die, take my word for it. Those who want to live, listen to me. Now we-"

Yugi jumped as he heard something snap, looking up at the cable. He squinted in the dim light, his eyes widening as he saw another strand of the metal cable give way. Yugi scrambled to his feet, ignoring the pain that rolled through him, leaning on the console as he tried to stay up, unable to move as the cable finally gave out, the metal whipping around before falling into the shaft. Yugi pushed away from the console, lunging for the end of the cable. "No!"

It was already gone, the darkness of the interior of the asteroid swallowing it up. Yugi leaned over the railing, staring down into the blackness before looking up, staring at the ragged ends where the cable had snapped before he pushed away, shaking his head. "We need another cable."

"Yugi," he spun around to look at Jefferson, the older man surprisingly sympathetic, "there isn't another cable long enough to reach them."

"Then we'll get all the extras and-" He cut himself off as Jefferson shook his head, staring at all of the others in the room before turning around and leaning on the console, trying to keep his voice down. "Then we come up with another plan because I am not leaving him down there!"

Yugi turned around, panting for breath before he got himself under control again, shaking his head when he felt a flash of heat on his forehead. He struggled to control the surge of power from the fragment, unable to stop the scream of pain that escaped before he collapsed to the ground. Yugi was barely aware that he thrashed on the ground, shoving the fragment of the time vortex away again. It was only after it was under control again that he was able to breath, Yugi shivering as he pushed himself off the ground.

A hand rested on his shoulder, Yugi turning his head to see that Danny was looking at him with worry. "Yugi?"

"I'm fine."

"Not if you're acting like that."

Yugi shrugged, wincing as he stood up slowly, pushing Danny's hand from him. Everything hurt and it was difficult to move, but a thud drew his attention to the door. The Ood were trying to break in again. He growled and forced himself to stumble to the console, snatching up the communicator and fiddling with it until he could speak over the intercom. "We need a way out of here Zachary."

"You heard that thing. I can't do anything." Yugi glared at the device in his hand, about to snap back when the lights flickered before going out completely. He glanced around before turning back to the console, staring at the blank screen. Over the intercom, he heard Zachary give a harsh laugh. "And now the power is out."

"Can you do anything about it?"

"I can't do anything, Yugi. Stop asking."

"Well, I don't want to die!" Yugi shouted into the communicator, panting for breath when he was done. He could hear the others shifting behind him, not bothering to look back. His hand tightened on the communicator for a moment before he forced himself to relax. "Now, that thing, whatever it is, is trying to make us doubt ourselves. It wouldn't have cut the Pharaoh off for any other reason. If you want to dissolve into terror, fine, just wait until we are out of here."

Silence came from the other end of the line, Yugi relaxing and nodding. "So, where do we get power?"

"There's no back up generators for the station, the generators we have are supposed to kick back on quickly or we go out a fix them. But we can't do that, not with the Ood." Zachary paused for a moment, Yugi hearing the captain take a quick breath. "But the rocket has its own generators. If I can drain half of the power, we'll have something to work with."

"Get busy then."

"I need Jefferson on the line." Yugi nodded and handed the communicator to Jefferson, allowing the head of security to talk to Zachary. He turned around to look at Danny. "Now for you. You're in charge of the Ood right?"

"Yes, but I can't do anything from here. They've stopped listening to me."

Yugi hummed to himself, taking another step back. "Then get something that can stop them."

Danny snorted. "We don't have any Ood viruses on board, the Ood have never rebelled in their entire existence. There's not a lot that I will be able to do."

"Something is better than nothing. So get going." Yugi moved away from Danny, glancing over at Toby. The archeologist was curled up on the floor, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Yugi bit his lip and looked back at the others before going to crouch by Toby, resisting the urge to reach out and comfort the man. It was still possible that Toby could infect him like he had infected the Ood. "Toby?"

"Tell Jefferson to shoot me, I'll just kill you all."

"I can't do that."

Toby looked up, eyes wide and frantic. "Why not? You saw what that thing made me do? I harbored the devil in my mind, I recognized it! And I didn't do anything to stop him."

"You think he would let you?" Yugi laughed and shook his head, swaying a bit on his feet. He reached back for something to hold onto, hating the sudden bout of weakness. "Besides, we can still use you. Translate as much as you can from that writing, you might have an edge now that something has been in your head."

Toby stared at him before nodding slowly, edging over to the pile of paper that he had brought with him. Yugi watched him go before heaving a sigh and turning around to stare down the hole that the capsule had disappeared in. He ignored the shaking of his hands, taking deep breaths to keep himself calm. No matter what the Pharaoh said, that had been a close call. It was only a matter of time before he lost control of the fragment completely. Yugi raised one hand to rub at his forehead, trying not to look as shaken as he felt. The people here needed and leader, and he would help them for now. Anything to help the Pharaoh return to him.

* * *

The Pharaoh looked up at the strange sound coming from the shaft above him, his hand falling away from the button on the intercom as he glanced over at Ida. "Move!"

They rushed out of the capsule, the Pharaoh shoving Ida ahead of him and throwing himself to the ground as he heard the rush of air from the cable. He grunted as he hit the ground, remaining there as he heard the cable slapping against the capsule and the rocks around it, waiting for the sound to stop before levering himself up. The Time Lord licked his lips and glanced up toward the shaft that they had descended down. There was no way that they would be getting up there again. His hearts lurched at the thought; Yugi would be stuck up there.

He shook his head, standing up slowly. The connection he had with his companion would fade with the distance, and there was no man made way of communication left to them. He slumped at that thought, staring up at the shaft before forcing himself to turn away. Rescue wouldn't come from there, so they would have to rescue themselves; he wouldn't give up on Yugi like that.

The Pharaoh looked over at Ida, watching the scientist walk around the ruined capsule and the lengths of cable. He heard her sigh before tapping something. "Well, we could rig this up so that we can go down into the pit."

"Go down…" The Pharaoh rolled his eyes. "That's so human."

Ida shot him a glare before beginning to gather the cable, wrenching the already broken winch from the top of the capsule. Slowly, she wound the length of cable around the wheel. "We have fifty-five minutes of air left and I am not going to die just sitting here waiting to be rescued. There isn't a way out of her except through that pit. And, I would rather know what's down there than get out anyway. Wouldn't you?"

The Pharaoh couldn't meet her gaze, looking at the rock strewn floor as he shook his head. He heard her scoff before she returned her full attention to her work. He must be getting old if he was thinking like this. "I have someone up there waiting for me."

"Yugi?" There was a grunt of effort as Ida rolled a rock off the cable, returning to her task. "You sound like you two are engaged or something."

He blushed at that before shaking his head. He couldn't marry Yugi, not knowing that the human could die before the fragment of the time vortex finished its work or the fragment could just kill him altogether. No, he couldn't allow himself to get hurt like that and he couldn't allow himself to bond too closely to Yugi. No matter how eager he was for companionship, for another voice to ease the loneliness, he was not just going to use Yugi like that. The Pharaoh stared at the ground before looking up. "We're not."

"Better not to be. It never lasts. Something between you doesn't work out; someone in your family disapproves…" Ida trailed off for a moment, staring into the distance before shaking her head. "Anyway, you'll probably suffer heartache when one of you strays after a pretty young thing."

The Pharaoh tensed at that, wanting to deny that. Yugi was his and his alone; no one else would have him. He reined himself in, reminding himself that it would have to be that way. Eventually, Yugi would die or choose to go off on his own and then the human wouldn't be his anymore. He wasn't going to smother Yugi just to keep him safe, he love his companion too much for that. The Time Lord just shook his head again. "It's not like that between us."

Ida made a humming noise in the back of her throat, the Pharaoh glaring at her. The woman just didn't understand, not that he wanted to bother explaining to her. He and Yugi didn't follow the normal rules of relationships, mostly because he had changed. He was glad that Yugi felt comfortable enough to move forward, but the specter of his old self would always haunt them, and he knew that. The Time Lord sighed and glance at the drill shaft again, hoping that Yugi would be alright.

"Hey, you could help me haul this, unless you want to sit here and wait for you air to run out." The Pharaoh shot a glare at her, the expression softening for a moment as he realized that she was lashing out because she was afraid. All species were afraid of their own death, except for his own; he knew that there was another life waiting for him. Perhaps when he ran out of regenerations, he would be as frightened of death as humans were, but something told him otherwise. Maybe then he would be ready to face his entire species, if there was such thing as an afterlife.

He walked over to pick up the other end of the winch, the two of them beginning to carry it toward the pit in the next room. As they walked, the Pharaoh began to feel the slight tug on his mind, the temptation to see just what was in that pit instead of looking for another way out. The darkness beckoned to him, the thrill of discovering something truly amazing. He glanced back at the drill shaft before making his decision. There was no rescue from there and he knew it, the only chance he had was this cable and going down into the pit. Maybe, he could find his TARDIS there, even though he didn't believe it himself.

The Time Lord remained silent as he helped Ida set up the winch, allowing the scientist to make the final adjustments while he walked over to the edge of the pit, staring down. With the limited amount of air that he had, there was no way he would be able to find his TARDIS, even if it was just in the pit below. They couldn't see where it ended nor did the Pharaoh think that a light would help. The Beast itself had said that they were in his domain. The Pharaoh glanced back over his shoulder at Ida before mentally pleading that Yugi would forgive him for what he was about to do.

"Change in plans." Ida glanced up at him, her hands already on the carabiners on the front of her suit. The Pharaoh gently moved her away from the end of the cable, securing himself on before she could protest. "I'm going down."

Ida shook her head. "You have something to come back for."

"This isn't out of desperation, Ida. It's just something that I have to do."

"Because you killed them?" The Pharaoh tensed and glared at her, the scientist ducking her head. "I heard the Beast say that you killed your own kind."

"I killed so that many could live."

"Is that what you tell yourself?" Ida walked behind the winch, the scientist not going to argue with his choice. The Time Lord tried to congratulate himself on that small victory, but found that he couldn't, not with that question dangling in the air.

"Yes. To keep myself sane." With that, he backed to the edge of the open pit, staring down. The rock walls only descended a few feet, the Pharaoh glancing down into the darkness. There was only one thing left to do. He took a deep breath and pushed off from the wall, descending quickly until Ida caught him, the scientist cursing at him. The Pharaoh ignored her, lowering himself carefully down until he ran out of wall, shivering at the odd sensation of just floating in darkness. "Ida, lower me down."

He jerked downward somewhat unsteadily until Ida steadied the winch enough to lower him smoothly. For a while, there was just silence between them; the Pharaoh listening to the sound of silence, something that he had tried to avoid for a long while. Now he welcomed it as a place to collect his thoughts.

"Pharaoh?" He looked up to where he had left Ida, a bit disconcerted that he couldn't see her, just the blackness of the pit around him. "What are you? You talk to us like we're different from you."

The Time Lord sighed and shook his head. "It doesn't matter, not anymore."

"Because of what you did?" He nodded even though she couldn't see him, hearing Ida sigh. "Do you believe the Beast?"

"It said it came from before time, and nothing can do that. At least, nothing that I've seen..." The Pharaoh stared off into the darkness before shaking his head. "It doesn't matter where it comes from or what it is. All that matters is that it's here."

"I don't know. It seems dangerous."

"It is."

"Then why are you doing this?"

The Pharaoh tipped his head back to think, running the question over in his mind. He knew that he wasn't doing this on the slim chance that it would lead to a way out, because it wouldn't. Whatever was down there the race that had once lived here had feared, the fierce guardians outside the arch said as much. So it was just because of his own curiosity, something to do before his air ran out, something to distract him from the thoughts of what might have been and the worry that Yugi would wait for him forever. After all, the human had promised him forever. His hearts constricted painfully, the Pharaoh staring down at the cable, too lost in his thought to notice when he stopped moving too lost in his thoughts of Yugi.

A sigh from Ida caught his attention, the Pharaoh blinking rapidly as he brought himself back. "That's it, we're out of cable. What can you see?"

"Nothing."

His report was greeted by another sigh. "I'll bring you back up then."

"No!" The Pharaoh glanced back down, one hand wrapped around the cable. "I can't see anything around me. I could be a few feet from the bottom, or ten feet…I could survive ten feet."

"Ten…No! I'm not letting you go down there. I-I don't want to be alone."

The Pharaoh shook his head, reaching for his carabiners. "No one does, in the end. I certainly never have, never in all of my years. There was always someone beside me…But I can't stay, Ida. You want to know what's down there."

"Yes. Damn it, I do."

He smiled up before fumbling with his carabiners, taking slow, deep breaths to calm himself. When he had one carabiner to go he stopped, his fingers resting on the metal hook. He had almost managed to do this without thinking about Yugi, wincing at the thought of his companion. Yugi would never forgive him for this, and neither would he. But it was the only thing he could do and he didn't want to just sit around and wait for his oxygen to run out. The Pharaoh sighed, his gloved hands tracing over the metal cable and he spoke haltingly. "If you get back in touch with Yugi, tell him...tell him I...Oh, he knows."

The Pharaoh sighed before reaching up to undo the last carabiner, letting go of the cable to fall, the Time Lord quickly swallowed by the darkness of the pit.


	28. Fall from Grace

** Chapter Twenty-Seven: Fall from Grace **

_"Except that implies, in this big grand scheme of gods and devils, that she's just a victim. But I've seen a lot of this universe. I've seen fake gods and bad gods and demigods and would-be gods. And out of all that, out of that whole pantheon, if I believe in one thing, just one thing… I believe in her."  
-The Doctor_

"Ah-ha!" Danny held up a chip, Yugi looking up from his place slumped against the railing. The young man smiled before waving the chip in the air. "This will stop the Ood."

"Really? I thought you said we didn't have viruses."

"We don't." Danny smirked and leaned on the console. "But we do have this. I can broadcast a flare that will knock out the Ood's telepathic field. Pretty good for almost nothing to work with."

"And right on time." Jefferson backed away from the door. "The Ood are about to get in and we're trapped here. I'm waiting for another brilliant idea, Yugi."

Yugi stood up slowly, his muscles complaining. He ignored them for the moment, glancing around before looking helplessly at the others. "I don't know this place."

"Maintenance ducts." Zachary's voice drifted over the intercom, the sound of rapid typing following it. "I'll bleed air through the maintenance ducts manually, and guide you through to Ood Habitation. First section is good, be ready for more instructions."

Jefferson nodded, even though Zachary couldn't see him, walking over to a section of flooring and pulling it up. "Everyone in, even you, Yugi."

Yugi bit his lip to keep from snapping at the man, glancing back to the door before nodding. He couldn't stay here, as much as he wanted to. The Ood would get in and kill him, and then he would be useless in helping save the Pharaoh. Yugi stepped forward, waiting for Danny to jump down into the duct before following him.

It was cold in the ducts, Yugi wincing as he got down on all fours, quickly scooting forward so that Toby would have room to climb in. He didn't hear Zachary's order over Jefferson's entrance into the ducts, the head of security lowering the grate back into place before looking at all of them. Yugi nodded before turning to move after Danny, happy about his height for the first time in his life, it made moving through the cramped ducts easier. He glanced over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of the rest of the group before forcing himself onward.

He nearly ran into Danny as the young man came to a stop, leaning against the door to the next section and speaking to Zachary through the communicator on his wrist. Yugi pressed back against the wall as Jefferson leaned forward, warily eyeing the gun that the man held. "Warn the captain that he may have to hurry. The Ood got through the door."

"He's tracking us, isn't he?" Yugi's question got a nod from Danny. "Then can't he track the Ood."

"No." Danny fiddled with the communicator around his wrist. "They don't register as life forms in our computers."

Yugi stared at him in shock. "So you just let that slide?"

"We never thought that they would do this!"

"Obviously." Yugi rolled his eyes and glared at the door, ignoring the hostile stares that he got from the others around him. Let them hate him for what he was saying, it was just the truth. Besides, the Ood were possessed by that thing, something that Yugi to relate to. He hadn't asked for Cassandra to take over his body, but it had happened. Hopefully there would be some way to dislodge the Beast from their heads, like the flare that Danny was carrying. If not, then Yugi was out of ideas, and it hurt to think that he would be letting the Ood just die because they had been used.

He bit his lip and glanced at the door, watching as it began to rise. Danny was the first through, quickly crawling into the straight hall before taking a right. Yugi scrambled to his hands and knees to follow when Toby gave him a rough push, Yugi looking back at the archeologist, surprised to find the man frightened. "Go. Go. Go!"

Yugi caught a glimpse of white before he moved, quickly scrambling after Danny. The young man ahead of him seemed to pick up on the group's panic and began moving faster. Apparently, the Ood had followed them into the ducts, and they were being helped by the oxygen that Zachary was pumping through. Yugi smothered a curse, glancing ahead to see the next door already up. He felt a hand push him on, stumbling and slamming into a wall, allowing Toby to squeeze past him with that move. Yugi glared at the archeologist, shaking his head before moving on, suddenly aware that Jefferson wasn't following. "Mr. Jefferson?"

"Go on kid, you need someone to hold them off."

"No." Yugi tried to reach back and tug at his sleeve only to be pushed forward again. He growled and tried to turn in the cramped space. "I'm not leaving without you. We all get out or none of us do."

"Then your friend back there is dead." Yugi paled at that statement, Jefferson barely glancing at him. "You know it and I know it."

Yugi nodded slowly before hurrying after the others, keeping his eyes focused on the duct ahead of him. He hated that it was so easy to make a choice like this; it would always be the Pharaoh over someone else. And that was beginning to scare him. He was willing to give up everything for this alien, even the lives of other people. He growled to himself, sliding to an awkward stop behind Toby and Danny, the two looking behind him. "Where's Jefferson?"

"He's staying behind to guard our escape."

"What?" Danny waved the wrist that the communicator was strapped to. "Zachary says he can't open the next section without Jefferson here!"

Yugi glanced back, flinching at the sound of gunfire. Automatically, he reached out for the Pharaoh's hand, jumping when his palm just landed on cold metal. He had forgotten momentarily that the Time Lord was stuck down the drill shaft. He had become so used to having the alien there as a source of comfort. Yugi swallowed harshly, glancing up at the door that blocked them and back at where the gunshots were coming from.

"Danny?" The faint sound of Zachary's voice sounded loud, Yugi jumping and wincing when the top of his head hit the top of the duct. He cursed and rubbed the top of his head, Danny giving him a sympathetic look before turning his attention to the communicator.

"Yes?"

"I'm pushing air into the next section. Jefferson has to make it to that door before it closes." Yugi glanced back down the way they had come, watching the door slowly begin to slide down. He swallowed nervously before looking back at Danny, the young man trembling. That could happen to any of them if they remained behind, no matter what their good intentions. And Danny had to be the one to get out since he had the flare already programmed. But Yugi wasn't about to die, the thought bringing a surge of guilt. He wasn't going to let himself die here and abandon the Pharaoh. There had to be some way that he could save the Time Lord.

Yugi took a deep breath, turning to look at the slowly lowering door, his eyes going wide as he watched Jefferson rush towards it, losing sight of the man as the door slammed shut in front of him. He heard Jefferson bang futilely at the door once before the sound ceased, Yugi trembling as he pressed up against the door they were next to, his eyes closed tightly. It was too much like before, and it could have been him again.

 _"Yugi? Yugi where are you?" He tried to calm his panting, pressing his forehead into the metal door. No matter what, he couldn't sound like he was close to crying, it would just show how weak he was. The Pharaoh would mock him for that. And, no matter how much he could deal with, he didn't want the last thing he heard to be insults from the Time Lord. "Did you make it?"_

 _Yugi gave a long sigh before shaking his head, speaking slowly and rubbing a cramp in his side. "I was…Ow…I was too slow. Sorry?"_

 _He tried to smile, not knowing what else to do. The expression was more for himself than the Pharaoh anyway. After all, the Time Lord could just go off and find another stupid human to travel with him. And, no matter how much it hurt him to admit it, it had been fun while it had lasted._

 _Yugi perked up at the sound of something coming down the hall, turning to look and letting a curse slip past his lips. He could see the Dalek moving towards him, the creature's shadow thrown against the wall as it trundled steadily down the corridor. He took a deep breath before turning away, not wanting to watch his death come to get him. "See you, Pharaoh. And don't you dare blame yourself for this. It was my choice. Alright?"_

 _There was no answer from the other line, Yugi's hand gripping the phone tighter as his stomach twisted. Why did the idea of leaving the Pharaoh suddenly hurt more than it should have? He bit his lip, trying to keep himself calm. "I wouldn't have missed with for the world. So…thanks."_

 _For a reason unknown to him, he laughed after he said that, cutting off the sound before it could turn into a sob as he heard the Dalek roll to a stop, bracing himself against the door. "EXTERMINATE!"_

"Yugi!" He was shaken out of his memories by Toby, the archeologist staring at him before shoving him on. "Come on!"

He fell to his side, grunting as Toby scrambled over him in his impatience to follow Danny. Yugi slowly rolled to his hands and knees, wincing at the new bruises before following the two, their group silent as they followed Zachary's instructions, heading for another door. Yugi slumped as soon as they had reached their destination, rubbing at his aching knees as he stared at the others. To his surprise, only Danny looked as shocked as he was. Toby was constantly looking between the communicator and the door.

Yugi was about to comment on Toby's behavior when the next door began to open, Toby pushing past Danny only to scream and scramble backwards, Yugi pushed out of the way by the move. "Close it! Close it! The Ood are there!"

The door began to shut slowly, Yugi staring at the gloved hands that were slipping under the metal as the Ood tried to pry it back open again. He backed up some more, trying to avoid Danny and Toby's flailing limbs. Yugi ducked, watching the arm move over his head, staring at the grating above them. He blinked and twisted slightly, trying to sit up. If there was a grate about them, then it meant that there was a way around the Ood. The others were dead behind them with Jefferson and the Ood that had remained in Habitation were in front of them, so their way was clear. He smiled to himself before pushing up on the grate, hauling himself up into the corridor.

The open space was given a cursory glance before Yugi reached down for Danny, the young man immediately grabbing his hand and nearly pulling him back into the duct. Yugi braced himself, pulling backward until Danny was stumbling to his feet. Yugi reached back down for Toby, frowning when the archeologist seemed too entranced with the oncoming Ood to notice him. He shook his head and gestured at Danny with his other hand. "Go on. We'll meet you there."

Danny nodded and rushed off, the sound of him retreating drawing Toby's attention to them again. The archeologist turned on the spot and leapt for the edge of the grating. "Don't you dare leave me behind!"

Yugi scrambled backwards, slamming the grate shut as the Ood began to push the door up. He was nearly pushed to the side as Toby sprinted away, Yugi staring at him for a moment before following, getting to the door before the grate flipped back open again, the Ood beginning to pull themselves out. He yelped and slammed the door shut behind him, wincing as he scraped some skin off his finger. Yugi stuck the injured digit into his mouth before turning to look at Toby and Danny, the two scrambling to get the flare broadcast. He took his finger out of his mouth, staring at it before wiping it on his shirt. "Ready?"

"Almost."

"We don't have time for almost." Yugi jumped away from the door as something banged on it, watching the wheel in the center spin. "The Ood are here."

"A few more…got it!" Yugi stumbled further away from the door, relieved when it opened to reveal an Ood splayed out over the entrance. He placed a hand over his racing heart before shooting a smile at Danny and Toby. As much as he wanted to congratulate the two, there was something more important on his mind.

He edged around the fallen Ood before rushing into the corridor, glancing around to get his bearings before sprinting in the direction of the drill room, dodging the unconscious Ood as he went. Behind him, he could hear Danny calling for him to slow down, assuming that Toby went to get Zachary. The more people the better, now they could try to figure out the problem of getting Ida and the Pharaoh back up. And then, they could find the TARDIS and leave this place to the black hole. The Beast could rot for an eternity on this asteroid and he wouldn't care, because he would have the Pharaoh, his wonderful Time Lord.

Yugi leapt over the last Ood between him and the door to the drill room, slowing down to step onto the door, the metal rectangle pushed to the floor because of the Ood's efforts to get in. The metal creaked under his sneakers, Yugi flinching at the sound before hopping off, the sound of him landing on the grating loud to his ears. He glanced back at the Ood, wanting to be sure that they were unconscious before he moved back to the console, reaching for the communicator. Since they had the power back on and the Beast was thwarted for the moment, he would be able to contact the Pharaoh and Ida.

He paused long enough to wave at Danny as the young man came in, catching a glimpse of Toby and Zachary out of the corner of his eye before he turned back to the console, pressing the button on the communicator. "Pharaoh? Ida? Come in. Can you read me?"

There was a crackle of static, Yugi making out the end of a word. His heart beat faster at that, they could talk to each other now. "Pharaoh?"

"No." He frowned as Ida spoke the word softly. "He's gone."

The communicator nearly fell out of his hands, Yugi gripping it tightly the next moment. "W-what do you mean gone?"

"I mean…I couldn't stop him."

"What do you mean gone?"

"He fell, Yugi. Into the pit. He fell and I couldn't stop him." Yugi felt his heart stop for a moment, slumping forward to lean on the console as he panted for breath, barely hearing the others behind him. His whole world was focused on the sound of Ida's voice, waiting for her to say that she was mistaken or that the Pharaoh was just trying to joke with him. Yugi took a shaky breath before shaking his head, Ida making several false starts before actually speaking. "He said your name…before it happened."

Then it was too much. Yugi threw the communicator away and stumbled back to the railing by the drill shaft, his arms wrapped around his stomach. This couldn't be happening. The Pharaoh couldn't just be gone; the Time Lord wouldn't be killed that easily. The Pharaoh had promised that he would come back; he had promised that they would live a kind of normal life together while they looked for a way to get the TARDIS back. And, if the worst case scenario had happened, then the Pharaoh didn't deserve to die alone.

Yugi bit his lip, looking up at the others in the faint hope that they would help him. Both Danny and Toby were looking anywhere but him and Zachary was talking to Ida; none of them would be any help. But he was useless right now, his mind always coming back to that fact that he had lost his best friend. Even now he could feel a kind of aching emptiness in his head, the spot where the budding bond with the Pharaoh had formed and was now silent. The realization of this made him clutch at his sides. He couldn't feel the Pharaoh in his head, as faint as that had been before. He shivered, resisting the urge to sink to his knees, he had to stay upright. He was strong; the Pharaoh had showed him that he could be. He was strong enough to survive this.

He wiped the tears that had escaped off his face, feeling a little embarrassed that he was crying. Yugi took a deep breath before moving forward again; feeling the sympathetic stares of Toby and Danny on him, but his focus was on Zachary. The captain was talking to Ida, the man looking resigned. "We can't get you back up here, there's no way."

Yugi didn't hear Ida's reply, his heart beating faster. There was no way that he was just going to give up. There had to be some way, something that they hadn't thought of yet. If they stayed long enough, they could cannibalize the base to get the others out. More oxygen could be lowered to Ida to keep her alive while they worked. Or they could extend the oxygen field; make it so it covered only the command center and this room, anything to keep them alive long enough for them to be saved.

He looked up as Zachary put down the communicator with a sigh. "We're getting out of here. Leave everything and get to the rocket."

Danny and Toby nodded, scooting around Yugi to follow their captain. Yugi stepped out of their way, glancing at the drill shaft before shaking his head. "No. I-I'm going to stay here." Zachary stopped to look at him, Yugi managing to meet his gaze. "I have to wait for the Pharaoh."

"He's dead."

"He isn't." Yugi gave a small smile. Zachary didn't know the Pharaoh like he did; the Time Lord wasn't that easy to kill. There were millions of dead Daleks that could attest to that. It was only a matter of time before the Pharaoh called up to them with the final bits of a plan to save them, and Yugi had to be there for him. "He isn't dead."

"Yugi…" Zachary sighed and shook his head, glancing over at Danny and Toby before nodding. "I'm not losing another crew member. If you won't come with us on your own, I'll have to force you."

His eyes widened, Yugi scrambling back from his place by the drill shaft as Danny and Toby lunged for him. He managed to dodge Toby, but Danny got a hold on his arm, Yugi turning to try and yank himself out of the hold. The hesitation gave Toby enough time to recover, the archeologist grabbing his other arm and holding him still. Yugi glared at them both, thrashing around in their grip. "No! I have to stay! I have to!"

"Keep him still." Yugi's eyes darted to the pencil-like object that Zachary held in his hand, his stomach churning and he tried to edge away. "This will only take a second."

"No! Get that away from me!" The fragment in his head stirred before dying, Yugi frantically trying to incite it to work. The one time he needed it, it wasn't helping. He wanted to scream at the betrayal, trying to steady himself enough to kick out at Zachary. "I'm not one of your crew."

"He wouldn't want you dead, Yugi." The end of the object was jammed into his arm, Yugi yelping as he felt a needle pierce his skin. He lashed out, Toby and Danny letting go of him with that move, Yugi falling to his hands and knees on the floor as his legs gave out. He tried to stand up again only to fall, glaring up at Zachary as his vision began to fade, his thoughts becoming slow and fuzzy. The last thing he was aware of was Zachary lifting him from the ground and beginning to walk away. He lost his struggle to keep conscious soon after.

* * *

Something sharp was pressing against his cheek, the Pharaoh automatically shifting so the object wouldn't cut him. He struggled back towards consciousness, groaning as he slowly shifted so he could stand, feeling more sharp objects pressing against him. It took more effort than it should have for him to open his eyes, his whole body aching from hitting something on the way down. The Time Lord sat up, his vision adjusting to the dim light of the cavern that he was in, his gaze dropping to the shards of glass that were on the floor, catching the jagged edge of what had once been his visor before.

He gasped, instinct causing his respiratory bypass to kick in, the Pharaoh waiting a moment before realizing that there had to be oxygen down here; he would have already been dead there wasn't. There was no way of telling how long he'd been unconscious. The Pharaoh swallowed nervously before slowly standing up, looking around the cavern. Something had prepared this place for him, or another species, a long time ago, the oxygen pocket acting as an air cushion for a fall as well as making sure the one down in the pit was able to breathe. The Pharaoh gave a short exhalation of relief before looking up, unable to see where he had fallen from.

The Pharaoh fumbled for the flashlight that he had attached to his belt, smiling wryly as it gave off a weak beam of light. The fall must have damaged it, but it was still better than nothing. He sighed and reached up for his helmet, pulling it off; it was useless now. He stared at the yellow plastic before tossing it aside, untangling himself from the oxygen tubes. Now that his suit was compromised, he wouldn't be returning to the surface, the thought causing his hearts to pound faster. Yugi. He would never see Yugi again.

He swallowed harshly before turning away to look at the wall, freezing as he heard the sound of a rocket taking off; the walls shaking slightly with the force of the take off. The Pharaoh turned to look up, his gaze moving as he followed the sound of the rocket until it faded completely away. "Yugi…"

His vision blurred for a moment, the Pharaoh stumbling over to the wall and ducking his head. He fought back the tears that threatened to come, cursing himself for his own curiosity. He had talked himself into going down here, knowing that there wasn't a way out. It had been a better alternative than dying from lack of oxygen above, just sitting in the dark and fearing the end. It had been a bad choice to come down here at all; he should have just let another go instead of him. Then he could have still been with Yugi, he could have been leaving with the others. He wouldn't have had to break his promise to Yugi and, because of him; Yugi would be stranded in the future on his own.

Something in him rebelled against that, hating the fact that Yugi would eventually move on. Then someone would be touching his companion, his Yugi. The Pharaoh shook his head and turned to glare at the wall, trying to push his thoughts away from that eventual end. It was only right that Yugi should move on, he didn't want the wonderful person that Yugi had become to disappear and Yugi to return to the way he had been before.

The Pharaoh blinked as he realized he was glaring at a picture painted on the wall. He frowned and moved closer, raising the flashlight so the dim beam could illuminate the pictures.

The first figure that drew his attention was a horned beast that had been painted red, the resemblance to the devil of any religion making him uneasy. His own species had thrown off their belief in gods, the belief hard to hold when they traveled through space and time. It hadn't been too far a jump for them to assume that they were the closest things to gods; it had seemed that the Time Lords had been the ones to administer justice. The Pharaoh himself had just avoided the question entirely, not ready to admit to anything that he couldn't prove with science, a weakness of his own. He reached out to rest his hand on the devil figure, looking down the painting.

Around the devil were crude white drawings of bipeds, resembling humans. The Pharaoh frowned, noticing black lines on the wall that weren't natural, assuming that the lines were weapons. So there had been a battle against the devil, or a creature with enough power to be considered close to it. The Pharaoh sucked in a quick breath. Of course, this could have happened a long time ago, long before the Time Lords had even evolved, so the creature could just be a powerful being that had later become the devil. That was easier to stomach than the creature actually being the devil.

The painting continued down the wall, the Pharaoh directing the beam downward, watching the white figures trap the devil in a pit. He frowned and leaned forward, staring at the two shapes scrawled into a dip. He tipped his head to the side, turning his flashlight so he could see the painting better, confused when two amphorae were all that was there. He took a step back, turning around to look around the rest of the cavern for any other paintings that would explain what he was seeing here. After the scenes of battle pottery seemed a bit random.

The Pharaoh froze as the beam of his flashlight landed on an amphora on a stand. He hesitated before moving forward, staring at the amphora before reaching out to touch the handle. His fingers had just brushed over its surface when it began to glow, going from a dull brown to a golden color. More light spilled from a source on the other side of him, the Pharaoh stepping back from the first amphora and looking at the second one. He turned back to look at the wall, glancing down at the last drawing on the bottom of the wall, the devil chained beneath the two amphorae.

A growl drew his attention back to the amphorae, his eyes widening as he saw a great creature moving. Despite himself, the Pharaoh moved forward, watching as the Beast slowly uncurled itself, the light from the amphorae playing off its red skin, the Pharaoh jumping as the horned head jerked up, an animalistic look in the Beast's yellow eyes. He took a step back as the creature roared, trying to lash out at him with its claws only to be jerked back by the chains that bound him. The creature hissed but settled back down, continuing to stare at the Time Lord.

The Pharaoh shook his head, staring at the creature before taking another step back. "So it wasn't just a myth, it was fact."

The sound of his voice echoing in the cavern drew a snarl from the Beast, the chains clanking against each other as it shifted. The Pharaoh watched the creature warily before glancing up at where the ceiling of the cavern would be. "But how did you orchestrate all of this. Your captors wouldn't have let you control any of your own power if they wanted to seal you down here, beneath a seal and a…"

He trailed off, turning back to the painting on the wall. Off to one side, away from the original painting was a crude representation of a black hole, the black hole. The Pharaoh stared at the picture for a while before turning back to the Beast, a little worried that it was following his every move like a hunter. "They created this place. The air is for someone like me and the gravity tunnel is to allow someone to come here and finish the job. Catching and containing you must have destroyed the Valtino, so it was up to someone else to destroy you completely. And you made sure that no one would."

The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes, the Beast hissing in response. Of course no one would want to face the creature that had inspired thousands of tales about the devil and caused people to fear for their lives so early in the life of the universe. Because it had taken a whole race to imprison the Beast, all other species would stay away, and then it would be forgotten. The devil would remain a concept while the living thing lingered in the center of an asteroid. It was only because of human curiosity that they had come here. The Pharaoh sighed and rubbed his forehead, the solution obvious. The creature had to be destroyed before the bonds that kept it here weakened; nothing could last forever. The prison was probably already strained. But there had to be a catch, a reason that the creature hadn't tried to escape before.

The Time Lord looked up, glancing at the amphorae; they would probably free the Beast, which would trigger the safeguards that the Valtino had to have left in place. So he had to move now, the Pharaoh glancing up at the chains that held the Beast, his time sense telling him that they only had minutes before the Beast would free himself. And still there was something bothering him. The Pharaoh tapped his flashlight against the side of his leg before looking up at the creature. "Speak to me. I know you can do it, I heard you threaten Yugi. I dare you to try it again."

He got an enraged roar as an answer, the Pharaoh staring at the Beast before letting out a laugh. "So you can't talk…But where did that go unless…."

The Pharaoh jerked his head up to stare at the ceiling, his mouth open in shock. The thing that had infected the Ood had just been a distraction. The Beast knew that the humans wouldn't hesitate to kill the Ood, they were only slaves to them after all, but they would think twice about killing a human, especially one that had been used as a pawn. The humans would want to protect that person, which meant that part of the Beast was escaping. One of the crew members still had the Beast controlling it, and they were getting away. But Yugi was on that rocket. The Pharaoh cursed and looked back at the Beast. "So that's my choice, the universe or Yugi."

The Beast broke into a hissing laughter, the Pharaoh glaring at it before turning around to stare at the nearest amphora. He took a deep breath before turning to stare back at the Beast, smirking as he reached down for a rock. "But you know what I'm going to do anyway." The creature stopped laughing, staring at him in fear. "I'm the killer of my own kind. I'm the one without mercy; it's been taken from me. I'll risk my life and Yugi's, because Yugi will figure out what is going on."

He brought the rock now on the nearest amphora, the pottery shattering on impact. The Pharaoh spared at glance at the Beast before throwing the rock at the other amphora, smiling when it too shattered. He turned to look at the Beast, spreading his arms out with a shrug. The Beast hissed and tried to lash out at him, the chains that held it creaking with the strain but holding. And they would hold, all the way into the black hole; the Beast would finally be defeated.

The Pharaoh gave the creature a nod before turning and walking off, his exit ruined as the whole place began to rock, the Time Lord thrown into the wall. He gasped and pushed himself away, rubbing at his sore side before moving away, trying to dodge the rocks that were falling from the sides of the cavern. Behind him, he could hear the Beast screeching, the sound echoing eerily off the stone walls. He twisted slightly to avoid a larger falling rock, tripping over the many already scattered on the ground. The Pharaoh grunted, rolling on the ground only to come to a stop against something.

He remained on the ground for a moment before pushing himself upright, his mouth dropping open at the thing that he saw before him. The dark blue of the TARDIS stood out against the drab rocks, one of the most beautiful sights that he had ever seen. He reached out to touch his ship, relieved when the connection snapped back into place, the TARDIS frantically trying to fill the emptiness that she had left in his head, the Pharaoh just happy that the connection was back. The creature must have had just enough power to block it and now, while it was struggling in its death throes, it wouldn't bother.

He petted the TARDIS, glancing up at the opening in the cavern's ceiling, nodding to himself before scrambling inside his suit pocket for the key to his time machine. "Come on, girl. Let's save a few people."

* * *

Yugi groaned, wondering why his head hurt. He turned his head to the other side, flinching at the pounding in his temples. He couldn't quite remember what had caused the headache, only that the Pharaoh was gone. Yugi squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that when he opened them that it would just turn out to be a bad dream. He would be asleep in the captain's chair and the Pharaoh would be waiting for him to wake up so they could go on their next adventure. This nightmare will have never happened. Of course, that was just a childish way to avoid the real problem. Yugi sighed, opening his eyes and jerking forward in his seat when he realized where he was.

Gone were the dirty computers and faded colors of the drill room, replaced with the soft colors of the interior of a spaceship, Yugi could see the stars from the small window beside him. He looked around the cabin, his movements gaining Toby and Danny's attention, the latter flinching away. "Captain, we're about to have trouble."

Zachary glanced back over his shoulder before shrugging, Yugi glaring at the back of the man's head. He looked at the ledge beside him, surprised to see the bolt gun there. It would be too easy to use it to make Zachary take him back to the Pharaoh, all he had to do was pick it up and aim. He reached out for the gun, his hand hovering over it and trembling, he couldn't bring himself to reach down and pick it up. The Pharaoh could do something like that without a problem, even Joey could, but he couldn't. Yugi sighed and flopped backwards, staring out the window. "Why didn't you leave me there?"

"I didn't want to lose another crew member. I already had to leave Ida because there was no way to get her out."

"We could have saved her!"

Zachary turned in his chair, staring at Yugi. "How? Tell me one solid plan." Yugi blushed and looked away, hearing the captain sigh and turn back to the controls. "Thought so."

He went back to staring out of the window, finally twisting around in his seat so he could see out of the small widow. He easily found the asteroid, staring at Krop Tor and cursing it. That asteroid had taken everything he cared about away from him; it deserved to just hover under the black hole for the rest of its existence. Yugi closed his eyes, tilting his head to rest against the window. He had lost his Pharaoh again, and it was taking all of his will just to avoid goading the time vortex fragment into action and just letting himself burn. Maybe then he could save his Pharaoh.

Yugi knocked his head against the window, surprised at his train of thought. When had he been so willing to just give up? He worked on a second plan, closing his eyes as they got further from Krop Tor. Yugi sighed, his hands grabbing onto the sides of his seat as he tried to keep himself calm, he didn't want to break down completely in front of the other people in the cockpit. He bit his lip, opening one eye as he heard Toby nearly laughing as he read out how far they had come from the black hole. He stared at Toby for a moment before flipping onto his other side as much as the seatbelt would allow him to.

Didn't Toby understand that good people had died so they could escape? It was alright to be glad that you were alive, but there was a time to mourn them, the times when it was quiet and you were safe. And even now Toby could be jinxing their escape. After all, that creature had just let them go. Yugi's eyes opened wide at the thought, the human sitting up straight and staring at the back of the empty seat in front of him.

The Beast had been so desperate to make them leave, in hindsight. First it had tried to send them into a flurry of fear, which would have had them either turning against each other or giving up. And, if the crew had given up, they would have brought Ida and the Pharaoh back up and just left. Second, it had sent the Ood after them, trying to get them to escape. Or, maybe in both situations, it was trying to kill them. Either way, it seemed odd that the creature was just letting them go, unless that was its plan all along. But why? It could have just wanted them off Krop Tor.

Yugi's gaze strayed to the laughing Toby, his stomach dropping. Or maybe it was because they were blindly carrying something of it out with them. He hadn't even though that that the Beast could still keep some kind of control over Toby. And maybe Toby wasn't really Toby any longer. Yugi swallowed nervously and reached for the bolt gun, still trying to come up with a way to make sure that he got Toby out of the rocket. His hand landed on the metal, Yugi reminding himself that it was only for protection and that he wasn't going to use it, only to have it slip off as the rocket jerked suddenly. He was thrown forward in his seat, gasping as the seat belt pressed against his stomach, looking up as Zachary gave a curse. "The gravity tunnel collapsed. We're being pulled in."

He turned in his seat, flinching as his forehead knocked against the window. Yugi pulled back a bit, rubbing his sore forehead as he watched the rocket turn back towards the black hole. His mouth dropped open as he stared at it before he reeled backward. He didn't know what would happen to him if they fell into a black hole. The Pharaoh had said that it wouldn't lead to another world, so he might just die in there. Is this what the Beast had meant? Yugi shook his head and turned back around, struggling to move closer to the window in the next second as he found Toby glaring at him.

The archeologist was possessed again, staring back at him with angry red eyes. Yugi stared at the symbols on his face before trying to scramble back more, Toby glancing over at Danny before giving an angry roar. "You cannot do this to me! I am the beginning and the end! I am the thing that haunts the darkness! I am the great destroyer! I am the dark! I am the fear, the greed, the hatred and I am everything that is temptation and sin. I will live on forever and no puny mortal can stop me."

Yugi's hand fell on the bolt gun, Yugi looking back at it for a second before grabbing it and shifting in his seat. He would have one shot at this and he hoped that it would work. He took a calming breath before pulling the trigger. "Go to hell."

The bolt slammed into the front window of the rocket, shattering a section of it because of the force and nearly point blank range. Almost immediately, oxygen began to be pulled out of the cockpit, alarms going off as the computer systems tried to stabilize the rocket. Yugi turned in his seat, shutting his eyes against the rush and fumbled for the buckle on Toby's seat, ignoring Toby's attempts to shove his hands away. His fingers brushed over the clasp, Yugi gritting his teeth before pulling the metal tongue back. Toby remained in his seat for a second before he was pulled forward, sucked through the hole in the front of the rocket and out into space. Yugi turned his head to look, watching as Toby clawed at the empty nothingness around him, tumbling back to the black hole.

"Shields!" Zachary screamed the word, a translucent screen coming down and fitting over the broken visor. They all slumped in their seats, Yugi only then realizing that his hand was trembling, the bolt gun clattering to the floor. He curled up on his seat, hugging his knees to his chest. All this time with the Pharaoh and he had never killed someone before. There was little chance that Toby was still in there, but it had still been Toby's body. He took a deep breath to try and calm himself, looking up and meeting Zachary's gaze. "Well, you get your wish, we're going back."

Yugi just nodded, turning to look out the window before closing his eyes. His hand slid into his pocket, finding his cell phone. It was useless this far out, but he still wanted to call his mom, tell her that he loved her and that he was sorry for being such a pain at times. And he should tell her that he wouldn't be coming back again, as much as it hurt him. Junri deserved more than a call just before he died. He bit his lip, resting his head against the small window. It couldn't be helped now; they would fall into the black hole and then…probably nothing.

He sighed, shaking a bit as he tried to remain calm. Hopefully it would be a painless death, just a stop to his existence; he didn't want his last moments to be painful. Yugi flinched at the thought, remembering the look on Scooti's face as she had floated above the base. Anything but pain at the end of his life. He felt himself curling up, not bothering to stop the instinct. It wouldn't matter in the end.

Yugi yelped as he was suddenly jerked forward, looking forward as the rocket trembled in place for a moment before slowly moving away from the black hole. He leaned to look out of the window, his mouth dropping open in shock as he watched the black hole moving further away, turning back to meet the astonished gazes of Zachary and Danny. He jumped as a crackle of static came over the speakers on the ship, Yugi straining to hear anything and jumping when a familiar voice did come over the speakers. "Captain Zachary Cross Flaine?"

Zachary looked at all of them carefully before nodding. "Yes?"

"This is the Pharaoh." Yugi could help himself at that point, he let out a whoop, falling back in his seat and bursting into laughter. He heard an answering laugh from the Pharaoh before the Time Lord spoke again. "I hear Yugi in the background. How about a trade? I'll take him off your hands for Ida Scott."

"She's alive!" Zachary turned around with a huge smile, Yugi glancing over at Danny who was nearly dancing in his seat.

"Suffering a bit from oxygen deprivation, but she'll be good. I couldn't save the Ood." The Pharaoh heaved a sigh, Yugi biting his lip to keep from laughing. He knew that he should feel bad, but it was impossible, especially knowing that the Pharaoh was still alive. "I'll come and get Yugi once I've pulled you clear of the black hole. Meet me in the cargo bay."

"Got it!" Yugi beamed up at the speakers before fumbling with his seat belt, glancing over at Danny. "I'll need your help with Ida."

Yugi nearly jumped out of his seat, edging down the small aisle before racing into the hallways of the spaceship. He thought he heard Danny call for him to slow down, but was too busy running for the cargo bay. Now that the Pharaoh was so close, it was almost impossible to stay still, the minutes seeming to drag. Through the sound of his sneakers hitting the metal of the walkways, Yugi heard the Pharaoh's voice come over the speakers again. "You're out of harm's way, disengaging."

There was a dull thud, the rocket wobbling a bit before steadying. It was a moment later that Yugi heard the familiar sound of the TARDIS materializing, coming to a stop and looking around. He had no idea how to get to the cargo bay from here; turning as Danny came jogging up to him, the young man jerking his head to the side, Yugi following him after a moment. He forced himself to keep pace with Danny, not wanting to rush ahead and get lost again, but the time slowly ticking by grated on his nerves.

Danny finally slowed down by a door, Yugi hurriedly opening it, barely sparing a glance for Ida, the scientist propped up against the nearest wall. He only had eyes for the blue box that stood close by. Yugi barely heard Danny take a quick breath of surprise, already reaching for the key under his shirt and slipping it into the lock. He paused for a moment then, turning back to smile at Danny. "Thanks."

The young man stuttered out a reply, Yugi just giving him a wave before opening the door of the TARDIS and stepping inside, spinning around to look up the ramp. He spotted the Pharaoh easily, the Time Lord still wearing the orange Sanctuary base spacesuit. Yugi smiled at that, freezing as he heard the Pharaoh speak. "So, we'll be off."

"Sure." Zachary laughed, Yugi shifting to lean against the railing, listening to the captain of the rocket. "But, what are you two?"

The Pharaoh laughed, turning around and pausing when he saw Yugi. The Time Lord's eyes widened before he got control of himself again, but Yugi could see that he was edging closer to him, trying to wrap up the conversation with Zachary. Yugi swayed in place on the ramp, his hand twitching by his side as he waited for the Pharaoh to shut down the line of communication. "The stuff of legend."

The link was shut down quickly, the Pharaoh turning and rushing towards Yugi. He smiled and ran up the ramp towards the Time Lord, leaping into his arms. The Pharaoh caught him in a hug, lifting Yugi off the ground and holding him close. The two swayed in place, Yugi pressing himself as close as possible to the Time Lord. He heard a rumble of laughter from the alien, responding with his own laughter. He turned his head to the side, rubbing his cheek against the Pharaoh's before he was set down.

Yugi slid down the Pharaoh's body, feeling the Time Lord shiver at the move. He pressed close to the Time Lord, sighing as he felt the Pharaoh's hands move down his back, rubbing it. Yugi smiled and looked up at him, tipping his head up to kiss the underside of the Pharaoh's jaw. "Hello."

"Hello." The Pharaoh raised one hand to tangle in Yugi's hair, pulling Yugi forward into a kiss. Their lips brushed before they pulled apart, Yugi humming happily and resting his head on the Pharaoh's shoulder, one hand fisting in the Time Lord's suit and the other resting over the Time Lord's other heart. Yugi sighed, shifting to kiss the Pharaoh's neck. His lips lingered on the Time Lord's skin for a moment longer than necessary; shaking as everything came crashing down on him.

"I-I thought I was never going to see you again."

"It takes a lot to kill me. You should know that." The blithe tone that the Pharaoh used made Yugi flinch, the Pharaoh raising one hand to rest against his companion's cheek, his thumb rubbing against Yugi's skin. Yugi leaned into the caress with a sigh.

"Yes. I do." Yugi stared up at the Pharaoh, smiling at the tender look in the Time Lord's red eyes. They were so different then the eyes of the Beast when it had taken over Toby, softer and more haunted. Yugi reached up a hand to trace his fingers over the Pharaoh's face, the Time Lord standing still to allow him to explore. Yugi gave a wavering smile before burying his fingers in the Pharaoh's hair, pulling him into a kiss.

The Pharaoh stumbled back into the console, Yugi moaning as he pressed up against the Time Lord. He could feel the Pharaoh scrambling to get a hold on the console. Yugi felt the Time Lord shift, reaching up to hold Yugi close as he steadied himself. Yugi moaned into the kiss, the Time Lord's tongue pushing into his mouth to brush against his own. Unable to help himself, he rubbed against the Pharaoh, growling when he just feel the suit. He reached up to fumble with the zipper, the Pharaoh pushed off of the console, wrapping his arms around Yugi and pulling out of the kiss.

When Yugi gave a soft whine, the Pharaoh just smiled, the Time Lord panting for breath. "Let's continue this somewhere more comfortable."

Yugi nodded, the Pharaoh stepping away long enough to strip out of his suit, the familiar shirt and leather pants appearing. The Pharaoh kicked the suit to the side, reaching out to take Yugi's hand and led him into the corridors beyond the console room. Yugi wasn't patient enough to wait until they got into any of the rooms, lasting long enough for them to step into the corridors before he pushed the Pharaoh up against the wall. "Don't care. Want you."

"Yugi…" The Pharaoh stared at him before groaning, rolling his eyes and pressing his head back against the wall. Yugi hesitated, not sure how to take the move. The Time Lord stared at him for a moment before growling. "Get back here."

Yugi was pulled back into a deep kiss, his eyes widening in surprised before his hands went to grip the Pharaoh's shirt, grabbing fistfuls of material before he began to unbutton the shirt. He sought out skin as soon as it was revealed, running his hands over the Pharaoh's skin, reveling in the coolness. Yugi pulled back from the kiss to breathe, his head tipping back to allow the Pharaoh to rain kisses on his neck. He whimpered as the Pharaoh nipped his neck, hands running down the Pharaoh's chest and stomach to reach for the belts around the Time Lord's waist. He moaned with the Pharaoh, the Time Lord nuzzling his neck. "Yugi..."

"My Pharaoh." He felt the Time Lord smile against his neck before the Time Lord slipped his hand under Yugi's shirt, pulling it off before reaching for the button on Yugi's jeans. The human moaned, clinging to the Time Lord as the Pharaoh undressed him, allowing himself to be lowered to the floor. He smirked as the Pharaoh's belts fell to the floor, the Pharaoh looking at him in surprise before shaking his head.

"My sneaky companion."

"You love it." He barely had the time to smile before the Pharaoh was kissing him again, Yugi arching up against the Time Lord and closing his eyes. The cold floor against his back faded away, leaving only the feeling of the Pharaoh's hands moving over his skin. He opened his eyes slightly reaching down for one of the Time Lord's hands before bringing it up to rest on his temple, the Pharaoh shooting him a confused look. "I want all of you. All that you can give me."

The Time Lord stared at him in awe before nodding, sliding up his body to kiss Yugi.

"Yours. All yours." Yugi tried to muffle the moan, failing as the Pharaoh's free hand ventured lower. Then all he knew was heat and wonderful friction.


	29. Fear Her

** Chapter Twenty-Eight: Fear Her **

_"And you're terrified of her. And there's no one to turn to. Cos who's going to believe what you see out of the corner of your eye? No one. Except me."  
-The Doctor_

"Chloe?" Trish bit her lip, carefully opening the door when there was no answer from her daughter. She looked into the room, her eyes straying to the wall by her daughter's bed, the white paint covered with colored pieces of paper, drawings covering their surface. For a moment, she felt a swell of maternal pride. Chloe was getting better with all of her practicing, Trish still had some of her older drawings stowed away and there was a marked difference. She smothered the urge to smile, turning back to the look at her daughter.

As she expected Chloe was sitting at her desk, the small television on the corner playing a cartoon, but it was obvious that the girl wasn't paying attention to the program. Trish sighed and walked into the room, glancing at the bed and finding that the blankets were messed up, the bed still unmade; that alone was a sure sign that Chloe had another nightmare. Trish shook her head and looked at her daughter again; it was easy to figure out what had happened. Chloe had woken up from her nightmare and started to draw, the only thing that distracted her from the terrors, and she had just kept drawing. Trish bit her lip before crossing the room. "Chloe?"

This time Chloe's hand hesitated for a moment, Trish taking that as a good sign. She smiled and went to lean on the desk, noticing that Chloe had started a picture of a person. She turned her head to one side before looking out the window, the white drapes pulled back so Chloe could look out into the street. In the yard across from theirs two boys were playing football, Trish smiling sadly before resting her hand on Chloe's shoulder. "You could go out and ask if you could play. I'm sure Dale would-"

"I'm busy." Chloe ducked her head, going back to her drawing. Trish glanced at the boys outside before looking at the television, reaching over to change the channel for the news station.

"Have you seen this, the opening ceremony is tonight. The Olympics, right down the street." There was no response from Chloe, Trish clearing her throat before continuing. "The torch is going to pass through here, you know, right at the end of our street. We could go down with the others when it comes through."

"I don't want to."

"Chloe, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity." There was no response from her daughter, just the scratch of the pencil across the paper. Trish dropped her head, staring at the hand that rested on the desk, her dark skin standing out against the light colored wood. It had been like this for months now, ever since Chloe's father had died. Chloe had turned inwards, spending her time drawing and reading, anything she could think of to keep her from nightmares, and then she would fall into an exhausted sleep. Trish tapped her fingers against the desk before looking up, her breath catching as she thought she saw one of the drawings move, pushing the thought aside. She was nearly as exhausted as Chloe was. "Just come outside for a little bit, it'll make you feel better."

"I'm busy."

"You always say that." Trish chuckled and stood up, walking over to the wall covered in paper. "You must have used up a whole rainforest by now."

There was no response from her daughter, Trish clearing her throat. She hated these one sided conversations, something that she thought that she had escaped from when her husband had died. She had hoped that they could start a new life, a better one now that they were free, but Chloe had just shut down on her. Trish tried to distract herself by looking at the drawings, the collection of people and animals arranged in no particular order, although all of the people looked angry or sad. Trish scowled and tried to find a happy face in the sea of colors.

"All they do is moan."

"What?" She turned to look at Chloe, sure that she had just imagined that Chloe had spoken because her daughter was concentrating on her latest drawing. Trish glanced up at the drawings on the wall before pointing at one. "That's a good one of Lauren there, but why isn't she smiling? In fact, why are all of them so sad?"

"I give them friends, they shouldn't be. They all have each other."

Trish froze at the strange response, her hand dropping back to her side. She turned back to her daughter, glancing at the television before shaking her head. "Come on Chloe, we're going outside for a bit."

She went to rest her hand on Chloe's shoulder when the girl turned around, Trish recoiling at the look on her daughter's face. It wasn't threatening; it was just blank, frighteningly blank. "I'm busy, unless you want me to draw you."

Chloe stared at her for a moment longer before going back to her drawing, her threat delivered. Some part of Trish wanted to scold her daughter for that, but her heart was pounding too quickly. Chloe would have never said that to her before and certainly never had meant it, but she did now and that scared her. Trish turned and walked back towards the door, her mind swirling with thoughts of nightmares and moving drawings.

Her hand was on the doorknob when she heard the first screams from outside, Trish wincing and holding onto the doorknob like it was the only thing that was keeping her here. She couldn't turn around and look outside, because she knew what she would see, but she couldn't believe it. She would accept that Dale had just disappeared from where he was playing without a trace and she could accept the panic that would spread because of it; both of those were completely natural in their own way. What she couldn't accept was the conclusion that she had come to about where the children disappeared to when they went missing, her mind just would not wrap around the idea.

She tightened her grip on the doorknob before opening the door, ready to trudge down the stairs and out into the street to help calm the frantic parents down, ready to let the soothing mix of lies and half-truths escape because they would help somehow. Trish ducked her head and stepped out of Chloe's room, feeling the stares from hundreds of eyes on her back.

* * *

Yugi peeked out of the bathroom and into his room, glancing around for any sign of the Pharaoh before walking out of the steam filled room, his hand gripping the towel around his waist. Just because it was clear didn't mean that he was safe, the Pharaoh had a skill of finding interesting spots to hide in. He didn't mind at all, he just wanted to be the one who got the jump on the Time Lord this time. After ten straight victories on the Pharaoh's side, Yugi was more than ready to even the score.

He shivered at the thought, a smirk crossing his face. What he wouldn't give to have the Pharaoh staring up at him in complete surprise, just once. And maybe he hook his finger under that collar that the Pharaoh wore while he leaned over to…Yugi shook his head to clear it, not wanting to take another shower so soon. The Pharaoh probably had better things to do, like some of the endless TARDIS repair that was needed to keep the time machine running. As much as Yugi was enjoying himself, he didn't want the TARDIS to fall apart because he was distracting the Pharaoh.

He reached out to rest a hand on the wall of the TARDIS, hearing a happy hum from the time machine. She had been sounding happier lately, and the Pharaoh had even confirmed this. It was like the TARDIS was happy for them, Yugi smiled up at the ceiling. "Morning, girl."

The TARDIS responded with a rumble, Yugi chuckling to himself before walking over to his dresser to root through it for clothes. He absently tossed a pair of jeans onto the bed, a sleeveless black t-shirt following. He glanced towards the door, his favorite jacket hanging on the back, ready in case he had to run back to get it. Yugi dropped to his stomach, reaching for his sneakers that had been kicked under the bed sometime in the past few days. He strained to reach one, jumping as he heard the familiar chime of his ring tone. Yugi stared at the semi-darkness under his bed before scrambling out from beneath it, adjusting the towel around his waist as he reached for the phone on his bedside table.

He glanced at the caller ID smiling as he saw that his mother was calling him, flipping the phone open and flopping back on his bed, nearly laughing as he heard Junri's voice over the line. "Hello?"

"Hey Mom. How long has it been this time?"

"This time? Oh, time travel." Junri sighed. "Just a few days actually. I just missed you."

Yugi sat up at that, recognizing the tone of voice. He bit his lip and glanced toward the door before sighing. "Another one not work out?"

"Another…yes." The last word was almost spoken as a whisper, Junri clearing her throat quickly. "But I never expected it to. I just thought I was over your father, and I should be. He just ran off and left me but…Never mind."

"Mom, honestly, I don't mind talking about it." Yugi smiled, hoping that Junri would talk about her life. He still missed his mother at times, but it was right that they would slowly grow apart as Yugi got older. He just didn't want her shutting him out completely. He knew most of her friends and he knew that they would be encouraging her to just find another man, a better man and forget about his father. Yugi knew better, he knew that she still held up some sort of ideal that frustrated her, but she couldn't get out of the habit of keeping it. "It'll make you feel better."

"No. I'm getting over it, I promise. I'm not going to break down again." He heard her sigh, the sound coming to an end with a little sob.

"Should I ask the Pharaoh to head back?"

"Don't you dare. Enjoy yourself, Yugi, you're only young once. This is just a little thing; I'll save you for the big things that I can't handle." Finally, Junri laughed, Yugi relaxing at the sound. His mother would be fine after a couple of days, once the frustration ebbed away. "So, what have you been up to?"

"Traveling around."

"Yugi…" she made an annoyed noise, "where have you been?"

He opened his mouth, ready to tell her about what had happened on Krop Tor, that he was going to die soon and that he wasn't technically even human anymore thanks to a fragment of the time vortex in his head. But none of that would come out. All he could think of would be how she would suddenly be alone. Of course, Junri had her friends, but that wasn't the same as family. Even Joey wasn't around anymore, he was off in a parallel world fighting off Cybermen; he was the only family she had left. He suddenly wished that the Pharaoh was there so that he could ask the Time Lord to tell his mother what was going on, but it still wouldn't be right coming from the alien, that job was his alone.

Yugi cleared his throat, about to tell his mother the truth when his cowardice got the better of him. "Artos. It's a medieval planet."

"Medieval planet, huh"

"Yes. It was great; the Pharaoh took me to a festival, one of those for rain, nice weather and fertility." He heard his mother smother a laugh. "What?"

"A fertility festival? Don't you think he's hinting at something there?" Yugi blushed and ducked his head, his mother giving into the urge to laugh. "Really now, that's too obvious, even for him."

"It wasn't like that! We just ate and danced, had a good time…but not that kind of good time." He could almost see his mother's smile, Yugi rolling his eyes and glancing at his bedside table, smiling at the little dome of red gold. "But we stopped at a bazaar on another planet and I got you something."

"Really? Yugi, you didn't have to."

"I missed your birthday, Mom." That wasn't entirely true, but Yugi didn't want to explain the entire parallel Earth adventure to her. "So better late than never, right? I'll bring it around the next time we come home."

"Something useful? I have enough clutter in this place."

Yugi laughed at the old complaint, reaching out to touch the top of the dome. "Definitely. It forecasts the weather. The Pharaoh said it might take a day or two to adjust to the Earth's weather patterns, but it'll work."

"Thank you, Yugi. So, where are you off to next?"

"I don't know. The Pharaoh hasn't come in to tell me."

"Just remind him that I'll regenerate him again if you are hurt."

"Mom, if you go into that speech again, I'm shoving you under my pillow until you're done. He takes good care of me."

"And if you forget that I'm still on the line? I don't want to hear what you and the Pharaoh do when you are alone." Yugi blushed at that, turning onto his side and away from the door, listening to his mother's laughter fade away on the other side. "Yugi? Sweetheart, are you sure you're alright? You would normally deny anything was going on between the two of you. What's happened?"

Yugi swallowed before forcing himself to speak, trying to sound cheerful as he pushed those thoughts away. "Yeah, I'm alright. It's just that…uh…"

"Oh, I see." His mother sighed and shook her head. "Well, I may not like it, but as long as you are happy, I'm happy. Just bring him around soon because I have a talk to give him."

"Mom!"

"It's my duty as a mother, Yugi; I have to make sure that he takes good care of my son."

"He already does."

Junri huffed. "There's something else, but I'm not going to push you for it. You're old enough to know how to handle yourself. Just, please, if just for my sake, be careful."

"Alright, Mom. I-"

"And use protection." Yugi was sure that he squeaked at that, Junri not seeming to hear it. "You have no idea what diseases that alien has picked up. Besides, the male of his species could carry the young. I don't want you coming home pregnant."

"Mom!" He was sure that he was bright red by now, trying to bury his face into his pillow.

"I'm just being practical, Yugi. I've seen the way you act around each other and it wouldn't surprise me if you two had already slept together. Just try and keep safe, you have not idea what's out there."

"A-alright, Mom. Love you."

"Love you too, sweetheart. Now how soon is 'soon'?"

"We'll be there when we're there. We're kind of just wandering at this point."

"Honeymoon."

"I didn't marry him, Mom!"

Junri laughed. "You better not have. I'll see you soon, sweetheart."

Yugi mumbled his own goodbye before hanging up, closing his phone and splaying out over the bed. He barely heard the Pharaoh come into the room, lost in his own mortification. Was he that easy to read? He had gotten up the courage to tell his mother that he and Miho were sleeping together, finally stopping the need for awkward lies on his part, about three weeks after they had started. How long had she actually known? It might explain some of the disappointed looks that she had given him early on in those weeks. Yugi groaned and pushed his face further into the pillows, wanting to just disappear into the bed.

He jumped as a hand landed on his shoulder, Yugi rolling over onto his side and relaxing when he saw that the Pharaoh was sitting on the end of his bed, the Time Lord rubbing his shoulder gently. Yugi gave a smile before rolling onto the other side of the bed in an attempt to give the Time Lord room to lie down, only to have the Pharaoh pull him close into a hug. He hesitated for a moment before wrapping his arms around the Pharaoh, closing his eyes with a long sigh.

"Everything alright?" Yugi opened one eye to the look at the Pharaoh before nodding, pausing for a moment before shaking his head. At the Time Lord's confused hum, he pulled back to look at the alien.

"Yeah, my mom is just…being herself."

"Mothers."

"Yeah." Yugi winced at the memory of the conversation that he just had with his mother. "She thinks I'm going to come home with an alien kid or an intergalactic STD."

The Pharaoh looked away, Yugi surprised to see a blush on his face. Yugi sat up, crawling into the Pharaoh's lap and turning the Time Lord's face so their eyes would meet. He smiled at the alien for a moment before reaching up to touch his cheek, the Pharaoh leaning into the brief touch before smiling slowly. "New body, new everything. Tell her she doesn't have to worry."

"I will." Yugi leaned forward for a quick kiss, suddenly acutely aware that the Pharaoh was completely dressed and he was only in a towel. "Now, you, out."

"It's not like I haven't seen it, Yugi."

Yugi stuck his tongue out at the Pharaoh, reaching for his clothes and heading back for the bathroom. "Yeah, but you seem to be unable to go without touching me."

"Is that such a bad thing?" He turned to look at the Pharaoh, noticing that the Time Lord was smirking. He gave his own smile before shutting the door, throwing off his towel and quickly scrambling to get into his clothes. He was just pulling the shirt over his head when the Pharaoh opened the door, Yugi yelping as he was hauled back into his bedroom and pressed against a wall, the Pharaoh kissing him. Yugi wrapped his arms around the Pharaoh's neck, tipping his head to the side.

The Time Lord pulled back a moment later, smiling and resting his forehead against Yugi's. He pushed away from the wall, allowing the Pharaoh to wrap his arms around his waist, pressing up against the Time Lord with a happy sigh. After a moment, he allowed his head to drop to rest on the Pharaoh's shoulder, absently nuzzling the skin there. "No, it's not so bad, you touching me."

He thought he heard the Time Lord laugh, but decided to ignore it for now; the Pharaoh could have his victory here. Yugi sighed happily and tried to snuggle closer, frowning when the Pharaoh had to shift to stay balanced. Reluctantly, he pulled away, staring up at the Time Lord before pulling him down for a quick kiss. "So, where to now?"

"Olympics." The Pharaoh gave him a smile and reached for his hand, Yugi eagerly taking it. He reached out to grab his jacket as they walked from the room, the Pharaoh giving him a sideways glance before leading him into the console room. "Summer Olympics, you won't need that."

"I could always use it as a pad for my seat…unless you would rather me sit on your lap." Yugi winked at the Pharaoh before flopping down in the captain's chair, raising an eyebrow as the Pharaoh stared at him. "What? I'm not allowed to be coy and sexy?"

The Pharaoh shrugged before walking around the console, stepping in front of Yugi and easily pinning him back against the captain's chair. "Of course, but you'll have to deal with the consequences."

"I like the consequences." Yugi nearly moaned at the lustful look that the Pharaoh was giving him, managing to rein himself in. They had spent the first two days after Krop Tor in bed, neither of them moving from bed unless they had to. It was only when the TARDIS needed repairs that the Pharaoh had reluctantly moved them back into their normal pattern. But they had still taken it slow, being more like tourists than anything else. It was mostly festivals that they had visited, or ancient ruins that took Yugi's breath away; more than once he had wished for a camera. But he almost missed the times when they had to run for their lives as much as he had loved taking it slow. He reached up to rest his hands on the Pharaoh's arms, drawing the Time Lord's attention away from his lips. "Olympics first though. We've been stuck inside for too long."

The Pharaoh licked his lips before nodding, turning back to the console. Yugi braced himself for the rough transition from the time vortex, the Pharaoh glancing at him before beginning to land the TARDIS. The time machine rocked as they began to enter the time they were headed for, the Pharaoh moving quickly around the console as he piloted the TARDIS to a smooth stop. He paused to grin at Yugi before walking down the ramp and opening the door, coming up short.

Yugi leaned around the time rotor, getting a glimpse of blue before the Pharaoh shut the door and nearly jogged up the ramp. He watched as the Time Lord sent the TARDIS into its dematerialization cycle before landing again quickly, rushing down the ramp to look out the door before nodding. Yugi raised an eyebrow and slipped off his seat, carrying his jacket in one hand. He stepped outside, glancing around and spotting the two crates that they had landed beside, smothering a laugh as he realized what had happened the first time that they had landed. "A little trouble there?"

"Not at all."

"Really?" Yugi walked forward to hook his arm around the Pharaoh's. "So, you parked the TARDIS the wrong way on purpose?"

The Pharaoh snorted by didn't answer, the silence saying enough for Yugi. The human chuckled and then shook his head, looking around at where they were. He didn't have to wait long before the Pharaoh spoke up. "We're in London, England in 2012."

"Do you always aim for England?"

"I was aiming for the nearest Olympics. I didn't want you to freeze in Russia or get heat stroke in Brazil, so I settled for a moderate climate." The Pharaoh looked at him, Yugi smiling at that and snuggling up to the Pharaoh, frowning as a shiver ran down his back. Experimentally he exhaled, watching as a puff of white mist drifted from his mouth.

"It's summer, right?" He turned to look at the Pharaoh, the Time Lord watching the puffs of white with a worried look on his face. Yugi shifted, wiggling free of the Pharaoh to pull on his jacket, suddenly shivering in the cold. The frown on the Pharaoh's face was enough to answer his question, it was summer here, and it felt like the middle of winter, Yugi pausing as he shrugged the jacket onto his shoulders, his attention caught by the flyers that were attached to a pole. He wandered over as the Pharaoh continued to look over the street, his eyes widening as he saw the word missing in bold across most of the flyers.

The pictures were all of children, Yugi's stomach lurching as he remembered his mother's own panic as his disappearance. And that had been knowing that he was old enough to take care of himself, he could only wonder what these parents were feeling. He frowned, lifting up one, surprised to find that there were more underneath. It was strange that there would be so many children missing from one street, especially from a residential neighborhood; there was an equal chance of it just being humans as it was aliens.

He let the paper fall back into place, aware that the Pharaoh had walked over, immediately pointing to one of the flyers on top. "This one is recent, from today."

The Pharaoh gave a curt nod, Yugi standing aside to allow the Pharaoh to look over the paper before the Time Lord turned and walked off. Yugi followed him, carefully looking around. A sign to one side said that they were in Dame Kelly Holmes Close, a seeming safe enough place. He looked up; noting the kids playing in the yards and the amount of watchful parents outside. He went to glance towards the Pharaoh, stopping when he noticed a young girl looking out of her window down at them, a chill running up his spine. That girl was connected to all of this, his instincts told him that.

He looked away, more to stop the shivers from running down his back than anything else, glancing around the street again. The only thing that looked out of place in this idyllic setting was the huge van parked to one side, two men in bright yellow vests working on the road. Yugi spared a glance their way, the van on the opposite side of the street, he would worry about them when he came back down the street on the other side or the Pharaoh would get to them. Either way, any anomaly on the street would be looked over. Yugi trudged along, trying to noticing small things that would be off, often distracted by some small family thing that would have him smiling wistfully, until he remembered that he would never be part of a family like that. Even his father from a parallel world had rejected him.

Yugi stuffed his hands into his pockets, looking up as a car stalled out on the street. He paused, glancing up to where the Pharaoh was looking over someone's yard before focusing on the car again. One of the workers moved away from his van, smiling at the person inside before shaking his head. "It's no good, they've been doing this all week. Come on, I'll help you push."

The man scrambled out of his car, the two beginning to push the car down the street. Yugi hesitated for a moment before going to help, throwing his small weight into the task and smiling when the car rolled forward at an even pace. The worker glanced over at him before nodding, the three working in silence until the car stuttered into life a couple of feet away from where it had stalled out. Its owner gave them both a wave of thanks before getting in a driving off, the worker shaking his head and looking at Yugi. "Fourth time today."

"Do they usually do that?"

"No, just around this street. Apparently it started a week ago." The worker shrugged before gesturing to the filled pothole on the street. "I'm just supposed to worry about these. The council wants this place looking its best for when that torch goes by."

"So cars stopping has become…normal?"

"Just over this part of the street." The man gestured back to the street again. "Just here and nowhere else. Strange really, that and the weather. Cold as fall but in the middle of summer."

Yugi nodded slowly, looking up when he saw that the Pharaoh was having a discussion with a man on the other side of the street. From the looks of things, the Pharaoh was getting himself into trouble. Yugi rolled his eyes and walked over. The Time Lord didn't glance back at him, reaching out to grab him and pull him close. "Ah, there you are. What have you found?"

He stared at the Pharaoh for a moment, glancing over at the angry homeowner before nodding. "Cars keep stalling out."

"You call yourselves detectives?" The homeowner laughed and shook his head. "That's nothing. You're on the case about our kids, right? Then here's a tip; find them and find them fast."

Yugi flinched as the door to the man's house slammed shut, glancing over at the Pharaoh as he felt the Time Lord's hand tighten on his arm. He wiggled his arm slightly before the Pharaoh relaxed, smiling at the Time Lord before waiting for an explanation. He didn't get one, the Pharaoh dragging him over to a spot by a goal set up in the yard, waving his hand at it. "What do you smell?"

He raised an eyebrow before taking a deep breath, Yugi coughing at the overwhelming metallic smell in the air. He backed away, leaning over as he tried to catch his breath again, relaxing a bit as the Pharaoh rested a hand on his back. Yugi cleared his throat and looked up, shaking his head as he caught a whiff of the metallic scent again. "What is that?"

"Ion energy. Something is picking things out of the world and putting them somewhere else." The Pharaoh glanced around. "It's the same with a teleport, there's always a metallic smell left behind."

"So, if we went to the places where the other kids disappeared, we'd find the same thing?" The Pharaoh nodded, Yugi glancing around the neighborhood. "So it's going to be an alien this time. Great, where do we start?"

"Keep looking around, something might come up." Yugi stared at the Pharaoh as the Time Lord walked away. It wasn't the best plan that he had heard, but it was their only plan. He sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets, wiggling his cold fingers. He bit his lip, moving one hand out into the cold long enough to zip up his jacket before returning the hand to his pocket, walking slowly down the street and taking everything in. At times, he spotted the Pharaoh, the Time Lord visiting every spot that a child had disappeared at.

Yugi sighed, watching his breath rise in the air before tucking his chin into his jacket, closing his eyes for a moment. It was odd for things to be so normal when something was wrong; aside from the small hints, but there was no way to connect them. Missing children did not immediately trigger a change in the weather. Yugi shook his head, continuing his stroll down the street, taking careful note of the looks that were shot his way. All of them were wary, the people here not liking strangers, probably afraid for their own children.

He hummed to himself as he walked, wanting to do something to fill the silence of the street. He hated the moments where it would go all silent, too used to those meaning that something would come after them. Yugi froze as he heard something rattling around, turning to stare at the garage door beside him. He stood still, listening to the sound disappear before starting up again. He bit his lip, glancing around for the Pharaoh before shrugging and walking forward. Whatever was in there sounded small and, if it was small, there was a better chance of it not being dangerous. But that theory had been proven wrong before. Yugi reached out to get a hold on the garage door, staring at the white surface in front of him before taking a deep breath, there was only one way to find out.

The first push got him nowhere, the door creaking a bit before settling back into place. Yugi tried again, smiling as the garage door slowly began to rise, shifting to adjust his grip so he wouldn't drop it back down. In the short moment it took, Yugi pausing to be sure that he had it, something slipped out of the garage. Yugi heard it buzzing around near the ground before it suddenly leapt up at his face. He yelped and fell backwards, the garage door slamming back to the ground.

He grunted as he hit the ground, the compact black creature launching itself at his face and neck, Yugi immediately curling up in a ball to protect himself. The move made the creature buzz more angrily, attacking fast and actually hitting Yugi, but there was no pain, only a slight crinkling noise when the creature bounced off him. Yugi cautiously opened one eye, staring at the thing for a moment before he had to close his eye again, the creature lunging for it. From the one look that he had managed to get of the creature, it looked like a tangled mass of black wire, Yugi trying to think of a way to stop it from attacking.

Yugi twitched a bit at the sound of his name, hearing the sound of someone running before the buzz of the sonic screwdriver. The creature gave a whine before dropping, Yugi rolling over onto his back to catch the thing, staring at it. Now that it wasn't trying to kill him, it was packed into a smaller ball, Yugi staring at it before cautiously getting to his feet, the Pharaoh obviously trying not to hover over him. Yugi rolled his eyes and pulled the Pharaoh into a hug, the Time Lord clinging to him. "You alright?"

"Yeah, no harm done." Yugi pulled away, going back to staring at the creature in his hand. "But what is it?"

The Pharaoh cautiously looked over the creature, picking it up and holding it up to the light before shaking his head, dropping it back into Yugi's hand. "No idea."

"Well, it isn't dangerous." Yugi gave him a smile before shrugging, jerking his head back towards where they had left the time machine. "TARDIS?"

The Pharaoh nodded, reaching for Yugi's free hand and grabbing it. The tight hold spoke volumes about the Pharaoh, the Time Lord still worried over the attack. Yugi just smiled, tucking the creature into his pocket before snuggling close to the Pharaoh, offering his physical presence as comfort. The move worked, the Time Lord taking a deep breath and relaxing, glancing down at Yugi with a soft smile, the smile that always made Yugi's heart flutter. "Better now?"

"Much." The Pharaoh squeezed his hand in thanks before he turned his attention to the street that they were walking down, the blue of the TARDIS visible between the two crates.

Yugi laughed at the sight, the Pharaoh glancing back down at him with a confused look. "She's making friends."

"Probably not. The TARDIS can be a bit snobbish, she only takes the best." Yugi raised an eyebrow before laughing, shaking his head and leaning against the Pharaoh. The Time Lord stopped, pulling Yugi away from his side and turning to face the human. He lifted Yugi's chin slightly, smiling at his companion. "I mean it, Yugi, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

He closed his eyes as the Pharaoh kissed his forehead, sighing as he felt the Time Lord wrap an arm around his waist. Part of this sudden relaxation had to come from their bond, Yugi was sure of it. The Pharaoh was probably sending some happy emotion down it. Of course, Yugi couldn't reciprocate, not unless he was imitating the Pharaoh's methods of getting into another's mind. It made him feel a little bad at times, that the bond was there but he wasn't able to offer the Pharaoh the full potential of the tie. Yugi just sighed and allowed the Pharaoh to pull him into a quick hug. "Come on, creature to look at."

Yugi nodded and grabbed the Pharaoh's hand again, smiling as he towed the Pharaoh forward, listening to the Pharaoh chuckle. He glanced back before reaching for the chain around his neck, pulling the TARDIS key out of its spot under his shirt. The little ankh that he had hung on the chain knocked against the key, Yugi smiling at that before pushing it out of the way, sticking the key into the lock and unlocking the time machine. He stepped into the console room, unzipping his jacket with a happy sigh, glad to be in the warmth.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out the creature and passing it to the Pharaoh as the Time Lord walked past, rubbing his hands together as he followed the Pharaoh. He blew on his hands, walking around the console and leaning against it as he watched the Pharaoh work, setting the creature on a section of the TARDIS console. There was a flurrying of clicks, Yugi jumping as they were translated into a melody in his head.

Slowly, he was beginning to understand what each thing was. The gentle presence in the back of his mind was the Pharaoh, strong and steady. The TARDIS was harder to detect, the ancient time machine subtle in it's presence in his mind. And the music, the music was something that Yugi was still working out. It seemed to be the combined presence of the Pharaoh and the TARDIS, but so much more. He had spent a few days in the library trying to figure it out, only coming up with the music of the spheres as the closest thing to what he had. Reluctant to talk to the Time Lord about it, Yugi just assumed it was his version of dealing with time. The Pharaoh seemed to instinctively know what to do, and Yugi heard music. Sometimes he could heard it when something was wrong, the melody hiding somewhere in his mind the rest of the time. Sometimes it cropped up when there was nothing wrong, but it was welcome then.

Yugi smiled to himself, jumping when the Pharaoh made a surprised noise, Yugi's gaze darting back to the view screen, trying to read the symbols that were flashing up on the screen. After a moment, the Pharaoh reached out and grabbed the creature, reaching into the pockets of his long coat to pull out a pencil. Yugi merely raised his eyebrow at that, too used to the Pharaoh pulling strange things out of his jacket. The Time Lord paid no attention to him, using the eraser to erase part of the creature, Yugi leaning forward to make sure that he wasn't just seeing things. "You can erase it!"

"Yes." The Pharaoh put the creature down on the console again with care, tucking it carefully among the stuff already there. Yugi smiled and reached out to stroke the creature with a finger before looking at the Pharaoh, the Time Lord looking back at the screen. "Says it's made of graphite."

"Like a pencil?" Yugi shivered, his mind suddenly going back to the little girl that had been staring down at him from her window. He didn't remember if she had been holding a pencil, but it was just a hunch. He licked his lips, reaching out to put a finger on the creature again. "If things can be pulled from this world, could things be pulled from another?"

"It's not worlds, just places. But yes." The Pharaoh waved a hand, Yugi ducking around the limb before clearing his throat.

"It's a scribble." The Pharaoh turned to look at him, an eyebrow raised. "From a child's drawing. You scribble it out when you make a mistake. There's this girl on that street, I think she might be a good place to start."

The Pharaoh leaned back against the console, drumming his fingers against the coral before slowly nodding, Yugi smiling as he looked up. The Time Lord smiled as well. "See, you're the best."

"Nah, there's probably someone better."

"No." The Pharaoh pulled him into a hug, Yugi squeezing the Time Lord tightly before spinning around in his hold, wrapping them both in the Time Lord's coat, pressing back against the Time Lord. The Pharaoh was slightly cooler than he was, but it was still comforting, and much warmer than it would be outside. "You can't stay in my coat."

"It's warm."

"It may be warm, but we have something to do." Yugi huffed and shuffled out of his warm spot, the Pharaoh giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll make it up to you later."

"Good." Yugi zipped up his jacket again, tucking one hand into his pocket while leaving the other out. The Pharaoh took his hand, the two of them stepping out of the TARDIS and walking back up the street, Yugi's gaze going back to the second floor of the houses. He spotted the one where he had seen the little girl in the window, relived that she wasn't there. He wasn't sure he could stand up to that stare again. Yugi nudged the Pharaoh in the right direction, staring at the front door as they approached the house. "So, still masquerading as cops?"

"No. We tell the truth." The Pharaoh glanced over at Yugi. "We owe it to them."

Yugi didn't answer, reaching forward to knock on the door, letting his hand slip from the Pharaoh's. The Time Lord glanced his way once before the door opened, Yugi giving a friendly smile, but he stayed silent; he would let the Pharaoh talk. "Hello, we've come to see you daughter."

The woman tensed, staring at the both of them, Yugi noticing that she was clinging to the door. "I-is she in some kind of trouble? How come I didn't hear about it?"

"She's not in trouble. We're just here to help."

"Help?" The woman's hand twitched on the door, Yugi watching her glance back inside before shaking her head. "No, no we don't need you…" She bit her lip, shaking as he looked down at the ground. Yugi was about to move forward when she looked up again. "Can you really help her? I've done everything I can think of, but there's nothing I can do. Can you?"

The Pharaoh smiled softly before nodding, the woman opening the door the rest of the way before allowing them to step in. She looked nervously outside before shutting the door, ushering them into the living room and quickly turning off the television, Yugi getting a glimpse of the Olympic coverage before she began to pace the front of the room. The woman made several false starts before clearing her throat and standing in one place, swaying a bit. "Well, I'm Trish, Trish Webber."

"I'm Yugi Mutou and this is the Pharaoh." Yugi gestured at the Time Lord, who gave a little nod. Trish stared at him for a moment before shaking her head.

"You said you could help my daughter, and please don't lie to me. She hasn't been right for a week and before that she was getting barely any sleep, she had all of these nightmares." Trish bit her lip, glancing towards the stairs before lowering her voice. "They started when her father died, and don't apologize, he was horrible to the two of us, I'm almost glad he's gone. But Chloe, my daughter, she's been having nightmares and not sleeping. Then, all of a sudden, she's just drawing all the time and refusing to go outside. And she's still not sleeping."

Yugi glanced at the Pharaoh, watching the Time Lord nod slowly before getting up. He made a vague motion towards the hallway, Trish pausing a moment before realizing what he meant. "Sure. The bathroom is upstairs, last door on the right."

He nodded his thanks before walking up the stairs, partially listening to Trish continue to defend her daughter, sure that the Pharaoh would distract her for as long as it took for him to check out Chloe's room. Yugi stood in the upstairs hallway for a moment before looking at the doors on the right, padding down the hall. He paused at the door with the sign Chloe's Room on it, staring at it before darting into the bathroom as Chloe came out. Yugi swallowed, glancing out from his hiding spot in the bathroom, having to crane his head to even get a glimpse of her.

Chloe walked downstairs, Yugi hearing her footsteps instead of seeing her, the angle too hard for his neck to handle. He let out his breath quickly, glancing around the bathroom before leaning over to flush the toilet, hoping that it would be enough of a cover. He walked out of the bathroom before passing Chloe's room, noticing that the door was open. He looked around, peeking his head in further as he listening for anyone coming upstairs.

From what he could see from the room, it was clear. There was nothing remotely alien about the room, just a bunch of pictures on the wall. Yugi smiled as he saw one of a cat sitting, chuckling to himself and glancing down the hall before looking into the room, his smile disappearing. He was sure that he was looking at the same picture, it was definitely the same. A yellow cat on a piece of orange paper, but the cat wasn't sitting anymore; it was leaping up to bat as something at the top of the paper and falling back down. It repeated the maneuver a few more times before going to sit in another corner, licking its paw.

Yugi swallowed nervously before looking around the room, catching other pictures in motion, sure of what he was seeing. All the pictures in this room were alive, and that was definitely alien. He pushed away from the doorway, about to go out when he heard a deep chuckle from the room. "I'm coming for you."

He froze, trembling as he registered the voice. The cruelty in it and the rumble to it reminded him of the Beast, Yugi's breath coming quickly as he remembered the Beast's own prophecy about him. "The valiant child who will die in battle so very soon." He was barely aware of the closet in the room rattling, backing up against the wall as he tried to fight the impulse to go in and open the closet. There was something in the room that wanted him to go and set it free.

Yugi shook his head, reaching up one hand to clutch at the key under his shirt, trying to calm himself. The Pharaoh would sense his distress soon enough and the Time Lord would come up here. Until then, he needed to stay away from that thing and keep from opening the door. Perhaps that thing was the reason that the kids were disappearing, that a better reason that the girl that lived here. Maybe she was too frightened to scare the alien away, but that's what they were here for.

He shivered violently as the creature spoke again, not hearing the words, his mind thousands of planets and years away as he remembered the Beast again. "He will die and I will live. Nothing you try will change that, Time Lord."

Yugi dropped the key, wrapping his arms around himself and trying to fight off the urge, smothering a yelp as he shuffled into the room, reaching for the closet. He shook his head, wondering why he couldn't control his body, vaguely aware of the worry that was being sent down the link from the Pharaoh, but Yugi couldn't answer back, just staring in horror as he opened the closet doors, the clothes already pushed to the side to reveal the thing that was in there.

A great beast of a man stared back of him, the back of the closet tinted red through some means that Yugi couldn't see, but his eyes jumped to meet the drawing's eyes, shivering at the bright yellow eyes that stared back at him. The drawing laughed again, Yugi's hands tightening on the closet doors, his arms shaking as he tried to shut it, but the drawing was still trying to get them to keep it open, to keep the doors open so it could escape. "I'm coming to hurt you."

"Pharaoh!"


	30. The Light

** Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Light **

_"Fear, loneliness. They're the big ones, Rose. Some of the most terrible acts ever committed have been inspired by them. We're not dealing with something that wants to conquer or destroy. There's a lot of things you need to get across this universe. Warp drive, wormhole refractors. You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold."  
-The Doctor_

The Pharaoh turned around as Chloe walked downstairs, the girl pausing to look at him before she glanced at her mother. He was surprised by the shrug that she gave before walking into the kitchen. He could hear her taking out a glass and getting something out of the fridge, the Pharaoh looking back at Trish. The woman gave a faint smile before sitting on the couch beside him. "Listen, she's a really great kid. She's gotten all As on her report card and she's in choir, but right now she's not right. Just remember that, that's not my daughter there…"

He nodded, standing up. "I'm not judging her, Trish. I'm just trying to help."

Trish nodded before waving him on, the Pharaoh walking into the kitchen and leaning against the counter. Chloe turned to look at them, the girl regarding him warily before obviously deciding that he wasn't a threat. She turned back to the fridge, putting the orange juice back it before picking up her glass and studying him over the rim of it. There was something in that gaze that he wasn't quite sure belonged, debating between if it was the emptiness or the knowledge behind them. He decided it wasn't worth his time figuring that out, straightening up, glancing over at the fridge where a few of Chloe's drawings were displayed proudly. "You draw those?"

He got a nod as a response, Chloe intent on finishing her orange juice. But he had seen the spark of interest when he had turned his attention to the drawings, the Pharaoh waiting for her to finish. The glass was set in the sink when she was done, Chloe glancing back at the Pharaoh. "Those were the loudest. They didn't stop complaining, even after I gave them friends."

The Pharaoh ignored Trish's attempts to blow her words off as something childish, the Pharaoh narrowing his eyes. Chloe didn't seem to hear her mother either, focused completely on him. "I'm working on something bigger now, aren't I, Mum?"

Trish came to a stop in her explanation, glancing between Chloe and the Pharaoh before nodding slowly, looking apprehensive. The Pharaoh felt that she had a good reason to; it was obvious that Chloe wasn't acting right. He sighed, pushing away from the counter to speak to her. He was just about to crouch down when he felt a flood of fear from Yugi's side of their link. The Pharaoh glanced up at the ceiling, the fear building on Yugi's side. He tried to push through to get his companion to calm down, but the human was too far away. He glanced down at Chloe, watching her carefully. "What are you drawing?"

"I'm drawing him."

"Pharaoh!"

The Pharaoh was in motion before the shout had ended, turning and running through the living room and up the stairs. His attention was immediately grabbed by the flickering red light coming out of one of the rooms, the Time Lord ducking into the room. He paused for a split-second, long enough to see Yugi and the drawing in the closet. Automatically, he slammed down his mental shields, cutting himself from the mental compulsion that the drawing was trying to use, not even sure that it would reach him, but it was better safe than sorry.

He reached out and pulled Yugi away from the closet doors, slamming them shut before turning to look at his companion, noticing a flicker of gold in Yugi's eyes, but nothing else. The Pharaoh sighed in relief before reaching out to rest a hand on Yugi's shoulder, glancing back at Trish.

The woman was staring in disbelief at the closet doors, Trish turning around to look at Chloe, the girl standing in the doorway to her room. Chloe glanced up at her mother, speaking in an even tone. "I drew him last night, after my nightmare."

"Chloe, of all the things to draw in the world, why him?"

"We're meant to be together. All of us."

"No, but he's dead. You and I are-"

"No. All of us. I can't be alone!"

Trish stared at her daughter for a moment before rounding on Yugi and the Pharaoh, the Time Lord glaring at her, watching as she deflated shaking her head. "W-why were you even in here?"

"I was passing by and that thing called to me." Yugi shivered and pressed back into the Pharaoh. "It felt like it was about ready to come out of the wall."

The Pharaoh turned back to the closet, ignoring Yugi's shiver, pressing a hand against the wood. He closed his eyes for a moment and then jumped backward. He shook out his hand before looking back at the others. "He is close to breaking out of that wall. Trish, get all of Chloe's colored pencils."

Trish hesitated for a moment before getting to work, Chloe sitting impassively on her bed, staring at him. The Pharaoh was sure that he had classified himself as a threat in her eyes, but he decided to ignore it for now. There was little that Chloe could do to stop him, especially from finding out what was happening with her. He looked down at Yugi as the human sidled up to him. "Is her drawing bringing him out?"

"Yes and no." The Pharaoh winced at the unhelpful answer, glancing around the room before sighing. "It's giving her more power to work with, which can pull him out of the wall if she chooses, but only in that way."

"Pharaoh, the pictures move." The Time Lord glanced down at his companion before looking at the wall covered in pictures, tracking the small movements of the drawings in them, glancing at Trish before walking forward, studying one picture. He raised an eyebrow as he recognized one of the children from the posters. So Chloe had been using ionic energy to pull the children into her drawings, which meant that the concept could be reversed, explaining the scribble creature that had attacked Yugi before.

He took a step back from the drawings to look over at Trish, the woman hesitating. She finally stood up and shook her head. "T-they don't move. You two must be seeing things. Now, you said you'd help my daughter, not speak nonsense."

"You call it nonsense." The Pharaoh watched her tense. "You call it that because you can't explain it, but some part of you knows and understands, which is why you hide it."

"Listen, if you can't-"

"I can, but you're going to have to trust me, Trish. It won't be anything that you normally see." Trish hesitated for a moment before nodding slowly, the Pharaoh giving Yugi a slight push towards Trish, a silent command to stand by her. He gave the room a quick glance over before walking over to Chloe, hesitating before deciding that he wouldn't be able to reach the alien if Chloe was conscious. He swallowed before placing his hands on Chloe's temples, his fingers automatically slipping into position as he gently slipped into her mind.

There was no resistance, the Pharaoh worried about that. Usually a human, even one possessed by an alien would fight back against having their mind invaded. An uneasy feeling made his stomach roll, the Pharaoh forcing himself to continue probing, searching for the consciousness of Chloe and the alien, wanting to cut off the connection between them. He found the connection, twisting quickly to cut it off before pulling out, reaching to catch the young girl as her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell to her bed. The Pharaoh gently laid her out before standing up.

"What did you do?"

He glanced over at Trish, noticing that Yugi had a hand on her shoulder, standing there for her to lean on. He smiled at his companion before turning back to Chloe. "She's just sleeping. But that gives me the chance to speak to the alien."

"Alien?"

Chloe's body twitched slightly, the girl relaxing a moment later. When she did speak, it was in a whisper. "Where is Chloe Webber? I want Chloe Webber, I need Chloe Webber."

"You'll get her back, no harm done to her. Now, tell me who you are."

"I want Chloe Webber."

"By the order of the Shadow Proclamation, I demand you to tell me who you are."

"Your proclamations have no hold on me." The alien paused for a moment before sucking in a deep breath. "You speak to one who will live long beyond your proclamation. I am Isolus."

The Pharaoh paused, staring at the girl lying down on the bed, his eyes widening as he realized the enormity of what she had said. It was a single Isolus that was living with a human, the reason for stealing the others away suddenly clear. The Isolus traveled in pods with billions of brothers and sisters, they could never be lonely because they needed each other to survive.

He frowned down at Chloe. "How did you get here?"

"On our journey of a thousand years we came too close to your sun. I was pushed to Earth alone, my brothers and sisters remain above and I cannot get to them."

"Where did your pod land?"

"I found Chloe and she needed me, lonely like me. We will try and build our own family."

The Pharaoh glanced up at Trish and Yugi, shaking his head slowly. "You can't do that. I'll find you a way to get back to your family, but you have to leave Chloe."

"She needs me and I need her. And we need friends. We are getting them." The closet doors shuddered, the Pharaoh glancing at the doors in surprise. He had thought that she couldn't call on that drawing yet, but it looked like it was an unconscious reaction to being threatened, like Yugi calling the time vortex fragment to the fore. The Time Lord glanced at the girl on the bed, watching her twitch violently before reaching out to prevent her from falling off the bed.

"Trish, what do you do to calm her down?"

"I-I sing." The Pharaoh jerked his head towards Chloe, Trish hesitating for a moment before rushing over, the Time Lord moving out of her way to stand by Yugi, a smile crossing his face as he heard Trish begin to sing. "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree. Merry, merry king of the bush is he. Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh. Kookaburra, gay your life must be."

Trish trailed off into something too quiet for the Pharaoh to hear, the Time Lord turning to look at Yugi. He wrapped an arm around his companion's shoulder, holding him close. Yugi remained silent for a moment more before looking up at him. "Isolus?"

"They travel the galaxy in their siblings. They need each other for their survival; they live off each other's emotions." He motioned at the pictures. "It's trying to start another family."

"Can't we just feed it emotions until we can work out how to get it back up there?"

The Pharaoh shook his head slowly. "I could, but it would scare the poor thing. It needs happiness and I don't have a lot of that. Only a few years here and there, but not enough."

He stepped forward, the move catching Trish's attention, the woman looking up and him and wiping her tears away. "She was lonely because of me. I never talked about her father to her. She must have been so scared."

The Time Lord knelt by her side, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Being a parent is never easy. Now, just finish collecting those pencils, we'll be back."

"Thank you." He nodded before standing up and gesturing at Yugi, the human following him out of the room and down the stairs. Yugi remained silent until they had started to walk back towards the TARDIS, the Pharaoh slowing down at one point, letting them continue at a leisurely stroll. Trish must have gone downstairs, because Chloe was following them back to the TARDIS. The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow but said nothing, he would see what she would do, show that he trusted her. As long as he remained not a threat, she wouldn't move against him, she was just alone and scared and he had to respect that.

He forced himself to look back at Yugi, his companion clearing his throat before staring at the TARDIS. "You're good with kids."

There was something behind that statement, the Pharaoh flinching and cursing himself. The memories of his life on Gallifrey still hurt, drawing them out to remember them was not worth the pain, so he just locked them away. But things slipped out, things that he didn't bother thinking about because no one would really think about them, expect for his perceptive companion. The Pharaoh glanced at Yugi, noticing that the human hadn't taken his hand this time, his fingers twitching as they sought the warmth that was usually there. He sighed and stared straight ahead, committing himself to this truth; Yugi deserved to know. "I was a father once."

"Really?"

The Pharaoh nodded slowly, staring at the ground. "I was married; it was the tradition on Gallifrey. Children were Loomed, tradition again. I was a father."

"Oh." He glanced over at Yugi, watching his companion bite his lip, Yugi glancing over at his hand before reaching out to take it. The Pharaoh relaxed with that move, knowing that he had been forgiven. "So, what was she like?"

"She?" The image of Teana popped back into his head, the Pharaoh flinching but forcing himself to keep talking. Maybe it would help get rid of the pain. "She was beautiful and smart. She had been my friend in the Academy and we were compatible so," he shrugged, "we were married. It was great while it lasted."

"What happened?"

The Pharaoh stopped, staring at the time machine that was in front of them, checking for Chloe. The girl had already disappeared, probably wanting to sneak back in before she was caught. He hesitated for a moment before pushing all thoughts of Chloe out of his mind, focusing on the present. He rested a hand against the wood of the TARDIS door before opening the ship, letting Yugi in first before following him. The Time Lord walked up to the console, beginning to set up the search for the Isolus' pod.

He paused, his hand hovering over the last button that would start the search, taking a deep breath before pressing it and stepping back, staring at Yugi. "She left me, married my cousin."

"What?" Yugi looked furious for a moment before he calmed down. "Why?"

The Pharaoh looked at his companion before staring down at the floor, trying to keep from breaking into tears. He remembered all too well the feeling of being abandoned when he had been completely in love with Teana, despite the fact that Time Lords weren't encouraged to love, as well as the feeling of betrayal when he had heard that Teana had married Karim; Mokuba had kept in contact with him in those days. But the thing he remembered more clearly than all of those was when he had held her in his arms while she was dying. He closed his eyes for a moment, allowing himself to get lost in the memory.

 _He slogged through the mud, staring at the ruins of Arcadia. The one great city was destroyed completely; the only surviving parts of the buildings intact were the foundations, a pattern of squares that were strewn with the stones and jewels that had once covered them. The Pharaoh glanced down at the ground, kicking aside a diamond before continuing to walk, his hands clinging to his gun, his only line of defense if any of the experiments that the Time Lords had created had gone completely rogue. Despite orders, he would shoot first. He had seen too many of his own unit slaughtered by one of those perversions of nature._

 _The Pharaoh shivered but continued to walk, finally reaching the beginning of the bodies that were strewn all over the city. He stared at the first corpse and lost his nerve, turning to the side and throwing up what little was in his stomach. He leaned against a foundation, the palace if he remembered correctly, and waited the spell out, panting for breath before wiping his mouth on his sleeve. It didn't matter if his shirt got any dirtier; it was already covered in blood and mud. He shivered at the thought before forcing himself to walk further into the slaughter._

 _The Time Lords had thought to save Arcadia, their front line of the Time War, in the hope that they could end it quickly. But they had been fighting in Arcadia for years, close to ten if the Pharaoh remembered correctly and mostly against species that had joined the Daleks for no other reason than to wipe out the Time Lords. In the end, no one had won Arcadia. The survivors were slowly staggering around, aware that they would have to report this to their leaders. The Pharaoh was more worried about searching for survivors, especially with those twisted beasts the Time Lords had decided to test here._

 _He had seen one of their horrors, shivering at the memory and wishing that he would never had to see one of those again, but it would happen again because they had worked. Or, at least, they had killed more of the enemy than their own side. So the Council would use them again, and even the Pharaoh's friendship with the President of Gallifrey couldn't stop them. He cursed, forcing his gaze on the ground as he stumbled through the maze of stones and bodies._

 _After an hour and finding every one of his battalion, the Pharaoh doubted than anyone survived. The enemy might just win this fight because more of them survived, three to his one. He had seen all three of them as he had made his way into the city, all of them trying to contact their ships to get them out of his hell hole. And the Pharaoh had nothing, nothing but his TARDIS hidden away safely. It would just mean another climb down into the caverns and squeezing through tight spaces that he could barely fit through._

 _A groan from nearby drew his attention away from his own escape plans, the Pharaoh turning and nearly dropping his gun as he saw the familiar face trying to pull herself away from the bodies all around her. The Pharaoh let his gun dangle from its strap, rushing over and kneeling on the ground, ignoring the mud created by blood and dirt, helping Teana move from the wreckage, his hearts beating quickly. "Teana?"_

 _"Karim?" His heart sank with that word, wanting to throw Teana back into the mud and walk away, but he forced himself to half carry her to a clear spot, holding her close. Teana coughed, blood leaking from the corner of her mouth as she stared up at him, still beautiful as ever, and he hated her for it. He had thought that he had gotten over her betrayal, but he still loved her, despite everything he had done to forget her. The Pharaoh turned away, jumping as she placed a hand on his arm. "No…it's you. Pharaoh."_

 _He turned back to look at her, Teana managing a smile for him. "I knew you would come back. I knew it."_

 _"Teana…"_

 _She stared at him, the Pharaoh trying not to jerk away from her as she reached a trembling hand to his face. She didn't seem to realize where she was, the Pharaoh feeling the blood from her wounds running over his arms as she lay there. He opened his mouth to speak when she placed a finger over it. "I knew you would come back, no matter what Karim said. I knew it because I still had to…had to apologize."_

 _"Apologize?"_

 _"F-for what I did." Teana gasped in pain and shift, coughing again. "I did something horrible, something unforgivable no matter what the council says."_

 _"You used me, Teana."_

 _She nodded, wincing in pain. "I used you and I never apologized."_

 _"You don't need to; I understand why you did it. You didn't want to be the wife of a country patriarch, a patriarch who hated the city and the Council and-"_

 _"I used you to help my brother." The Pharaoh froze as she spoke, Teana coughing weakly. "I used the one they called half-breed to help a half-breed live. Karim…Karim promised that he wouldn't tell the Council of my mother's indiscretions if I helped him become the patriarch of your house. Then my brother could live. And I said yes, I said yes."_

 _He stared at her, automatically reaching up to wipe away the tears that came from her eyes. Teana turned towards him and tried to hold him close but she wasn't strong enough. The Pharaoh hesitated for a moment before pulling her close, holding her to him as she sobbed and coughed. "I tried to distance myself from you so you would think that I hated you and it worked to well. It hurt to see our children calling you a half-breed and hating your existence. I never wanted that to happen. And I still loved you then."_

 _"Teana…"_

 _"Karim kept his promise, but my brother hated me forever for it. His next regeneration…he chose not to. I was there and he chose not to because he didn't want this stolen life. And I hated myself for it. But Karim wouldn't let me go because he had all the information he needed to blackmail me. All of our children were too far gone and you were gone too. I didn't know what to do, I almost chose not to regenerate once, but I had to tell you…had to live to tell you…"_

 _She broke into a coughing fit, the Pharaoh looking at her worriedly. "Teana, don't talk anymore. I understand. Listen, I can get you back. I have a TARDIS. I'll take you as far down as I can and then I'll materialize around you and we'll get you home. We can start again."_

 _"Idealistic as ever, Pharaoh. There is no going back. What we saw here, this was a nightmare. What will Gallifrey be like when the front moves to her? I don't want to go back to that." She shook her head. "All of our children dead except…" She obviously stopped to think, working the words over in her mind. "Naia, what happened to Naia?"_

 _"She's safe." The Pharaoh was surprised to feel tears falling from his own eyes. "She found someone to love, so I left her with him. She probably lived a good long life."_

 _"That's good…better than the others…" Teana sighed, her eyes sliding closed. The Pharaoh's heart jumped, he knew what was coming and suddenly, even with all those years of wishing Teana dead, he didn't want to leave him._

 _"Teana…Teana, please-"_

 _"No" She shook here head, not bothering to open her eyes. "You don't deserve me. You deserve better. Find someone, Pharaoh. Don't become like the rest of them. Just remember that I'm sorry and that I love you."_

 _"Teana?"_

 _She looked up and smiled at him, whispering his real name before she died, the Pharaoh staring up at the slight body in his arms for a moment before letting her fall to the ground, turning back to where he had left the TARDIS, leaving Teana on the ground with the rest of the dead. He walked slowly, his eyes unfocused and his gun knocking against his side, not caring if anything came to kill him; in fact he would have welcomed it. He had harbored hatred against Teana for so many years, and now his world had been turned upside down and his wife had died in his arms, begging for his forgiveness._

"Pharaoh?" He jumped as Yugi touched his arm, blinking rapidly before turning to look at his companion. Yugi smiled at him before moving closer. "What happened?"

"She…she tried to save her brother by using me." He heard Yugi gasp, the Pharaoh ducking his head. "Yugi, it's been years since that happened. I've forgiven her."

He watched as Yugi tried to come to terms with this, relieved when Yugi decided to ignore it for now, the route that the Pharaoh had taken so many times before. He shifted, wrapping an arm around Yugi's shoulders, watching his companion stare at the floor. Yugi automatically moved closer, still not looking up from the floor. "I keep forgetting that you're not human sometimes." Yugi paused and frowned, shaking his head. "No, I know that you're not human, but I sometimes forget how old you are and that you don't think like us."

Yugi went to ask another question, stopping as he opened his mouth, his eyes going wide. The Pharaoh felt a wash of horror and embarrassment from their link, worrying for a moment before realizing that Yugi was going to ask about his children before realizing that all the Time Lords were dead. The Pharaoh just nodded, turning to stare at one of the columns, hearing Yugi shifting nervously. He cleared his throat, forcing himself to speak. "When I first left Gallifrey, long before the Time War, I took my granddaughter with me."

His companion remained silent, looking at him, but the Pharaoh couldn't bring himself to turn to look at Yugi. "I left her with a boy, a human that she had fallen in love with. It was for her own good, or else she would have died in the Time War with the rest of them, but she didn't want to leave me. I told her to live a good life and then left." The Pharaoh took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he forced himself to go on. "I went back once, a few years after I had left her and she was happy, she had children and was living a good life, the life I never had."

"What happened?"

The Pharaoh shrugged. "She lived out her life, died before the Time War happened, so she never knew. Her children are still out there."

"So…you're not the last?"

"No, I am the last, the others have just a few drops of Time Lord blood, but they're better for it." He turned to stare at the view screen, glancing over at Yugi and smiling. "Don't worry, I'm alright."

"You never mean it when you say it like that." Yugi sighed and leaned against the console, the Pharaoh tensing before turning to look at him. The human smiled at him before reaching out to rest his hand over the Pharaoh's. "I've been with you for, what, two, three years? I think I know how to read you."

The Pharaoh flipped his hand over, Yugi immediately taking the chance to hold it, the Pharaoh giving his hand a gentle squeeze before looking back at the view screen, watching as the symbols on the side flickered past, slowly coming to a stop. A red circle popped onto the screen, pulsing over a place on the street. "There's where we'll find it."

"It?"

The Pharaoh nodded, trying to shift the view so that he could see exactly where it was. "The Isolus' pod, it lives in there. We just recharge it and send it back into orbit."

"Recharge it? With what?"

"Heat and love. And not like that." The Pharaoh caught Yugi's smirk, reaching out to smack his companion lightly on the head. "We'd probably scar the poor thing."

"So it needs heat." Yugi tapped his fingers against the console, his smirk turning into a smile. "That's why it's so cold outside, it's sucking the heat from the street…and the cars! I know where to find it."

The Pharaoh stared at Yugi, using his grip on his companion's hand to draw him closer. "Did I ever tell you that you are brilliant?"

"Many times." Yugi laughed, the sound cut off as the Pharaoh pulled him into a kiss, the Time Lord shivering as he felt Yugi press up against him. He was tempted to just delay a little longer, to take Yugi back into one of their bedrooms. But they had a limited time until the drawing in Chloe's closet came out, he sighed and pulled away, nuzzling Yugi's neck as an apology before turning towards the door.

He opened the door for his companion, letting Yugi walk out first, tensing at the faintest scent of metal in the air. His hearts beat faster as he realized what was happening; he had been deemed a threat by the Isolus in Chloe. Despite its need to be around its brothers and sisters, the Islous wanted to remain with the human and he was in the way. The Pharaoh glanced up at Yugi, his companion walking a bit ahead of him, the Pharaoh reaching out to fumble for his sonic screwdriver. Chloe hadn't seen it, and Yugi might need it later. He held it in his hand, tensing at the metallic smell overwhelmed him, the Pharaoh closing his eyes and wishing Yugi luck.

* * *

Yugi barely heard the clatter of the sonic on the asphalt, too focused on remembering the exact spot on the street where the cars had been stalling. The sound barely registered, but it was the sudden shut down of the link between them and the screaming halt of the melody in his head. Yugi gasped, leaning forward to hold his head in his hands for a moment, automatically reaching to check on the fragment in his head, surprised to find that it was still dormant. He straightened up slowly, glancing around before looking behind him, his mouth dropping open in shock.

The TARDIS was no longer standing between the two crates and the Pharaoh was nowhere to be seen, the sonic screwdriver lying on the street. Yugi rushed over to pick it up, holding it tightly in his hand before looking around for the Pharaoh, trying to figure out what had happened even as he fought down the urge to panic. The Pharaoh wouldn't just leave him like this and he didn't hear the TARDIS leave, Yugi was sure that the TARDIS wouldn't let the Pharaoh leave without him. But that left him with nowhere to look. Yugi took a deep breath to calm himself, stumbling back the next moment, coughing.

The whole area smelled like metal, Yugi straightening as he remembered what that meant. He turned and raced back down the street, his heart pounding. He had to make sure that he was right, had to be sure that what he thought had happened. Then he would work to get the Isolus back to its brothers and sisters. Yugi stumbled, his grip tightening in the sonic in his hand as he nearly fell, Yugi regaining his balance before rushing the final few feet to the Webber's door, knocking on it frantically.

Trish answered the door with a smile, Yugi ignoring the usually niceties and pushing past her to run up the stairs, taking them two at a time. "Don't worry; I've taken all the pencils off of her!"

He skidded to a stop in front of Chloe's room, barely listening to Trish climbing the stairs. He hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath and opening the door, his heart sinking as he saw Chloe sitting by her window, focused on what she was drawing. Yugi walked into the room, glancing down at the floor, staring at the decapitated doll that had been thrown from the bed, an orange and pink pencil still sticking out of the skinny neck of the doll, Yugi shaking his head and walking up behind Chloe. "He was trying to help you."

The girl jumped before turning to look at him, staring up at him. Yugi returned her stare for a moment before he looked at what she had been drawing, biting his lip to keep from screaming. The Pharaoh smiled at him from the orange paper, the TARDIS right behind him. He turned away from the smile, staring at the decapitated doll instead, shaking as he tried to hold back his anger. The fragment in his head broke loose of his hold, Yugi quickly smothering it as he got himself under control. He couldn't lose control now, he had to focus. If he was going to save the Pharaoh, then he needed the Isolus to leave.

He turned around looking at Trish before shrugging. "I'm going to get him back. Just…make sure she doesn't have any more pencils."

"I'm sorry." He waved the apology off, trudging down the stairs and out into the street, leaning back against the door and taking a deep breath. Yugi closed his eyes, swallowing back his anger before pushing away from the door and walking to the place where the cars had been stalling, a smile crossing his face as he saw that there was a patched pot hole there. Yugi nodded to himself before turning to the van, not sure that he could resonate the asphalt to get the pod. The Pharaoh hadn't even been able to resonate concrete before.

Yugi walked over to the van, staring at the lock on the back. He glanced down at the sonic screwdriver before taking a deep breath and pressing the tip of the screwdriver against the lock, waiting until he heard a click to turn off the tool. Yugi checked around the sides of the truck for any workers before slipping into the interior, not pausing to let his eyes adjust before he reached for a pickaxe. Yugi turned and hopped out of the wagon, giving the area around him a nervous glance before he swung the pickaxe, flinching at the loud sound that it made. He looked around one more time before setting to work, breaking up the layer of asphalt over the hole.

He stopped after his third strike, kneeling down and sorting through the debris before his hand closed on something smooth. Yugi pause for a moment, carefully digging the thing out and staring at it. The pod fit comfortably in the palm of his hand, a light grey color with speckles of blue and pink on it. Yugi smiled, picking up the pickaxe and rushing back to Trish's house, slipping inside just as the worker came to investigate the sound. Yugi peeked outside once, wincing.

"You get it?" He turned to look at Trish, nodding and opening his hand to show her the pod. Trish took a deep breath before taking it from his hand, cradling it gently between her own. "I never thought…in all the movies everything is horrible and glowing, there's nothing like this."

Yugi found himself smiling, nodding to the pod. "The universe is full of things like that and that horrible stuff too."

Trish nodded absently before handing the pod back to him. Yugi gave her a nod before rushing up the stairs, stopping by Chloe's door and carefully propping the pickaxe by the door. He spared the tool a long glance, shaking his head. Why he hadn't just thrown it in the van was beyond him. Yugi shrugged and went to open the door, shocked when he couldn't. He glanced at the pod before carefully sticking it in his pocket before trying to pull open the door, the handle refusing to go down far enough for him to get through. Yugi growled and tried again, pausing halfway through when he heard a shout from Trish. "Yugi!"

He rushed down the stairs, Trish glancing back at him before pointing to the screen on the television. Yugi blinked, staring at the empty stadium, his mouth falling open as he heard the anchor talking. "Eight thousand spectators, just gone! We've hand checks of those that were still waiting to get in, and found that all of the people waiting in line were gone as well. We're going down to our men on the scene and…" The view switched to the empty commentator's box, a stray paper blown across the bottom of the screen. "No, not you too Bill! All of the spectators and competitors are just gone. Somebody, switch to the torch, see if it's still there!"

The anchor fumbled with the papers on his desk, turning to look at the teleprompter and taking a deep breath. "It seems like we're trying to get this under control. The police are asking the people around the stadium to clear to let in the special operations team that is coming in. All people are requested to help Torchwood-"

Trish turned off the television, Yugi glancing upstairs and shaking his head. "Chloe must have had another stash that we couldn't get to. But she's looking to replace a billion brothers and sisters, there won't be enough people. We have to get into her room."

"It shouldn't be locked."

"She shoved a chair under the door." Trish stared at him before turning and walking up the stairs. Yugi followed her, surprised when he was given the pickaxe outside of Chloe's door.

"You open that door. I want my daughter back."

Yugi nodded and shifting his grip before swinging. The axe stuck for a moment before he pulled it out, repeating the move three more times before reaching forward to push pieces of wood aside. Yugi flinched before sticking is hand through the small gap he had made, feeling the wood press against his skin. He closed his eyes and pushed the chair away, pulling his hand out to push down on the handle and get the door open. He rushed into the room, leaving the pickaxe outside the room, staring at Chloe as the girl stood by the wall, a blue pencil in her hand.

He turned from the girl to the drawing on the wall, immediately recognizing the outline of the world, part of the ocean already colored in. Yugi gasped, guessing that the Isolus was getting desperate. The Pharaoh had said that they needed love and each other to survive, so it would try and make a family for itself and Chloe, but it wouldn't be enough. Yugi reached into his pocket, jumping to the side as the closet rattled, his gaze going back to Chloe. The girl glared at him. "I will let him out if you come closer."

"But I have you pod."

"The pod is dead."

"I haven't had time to fix it!" Yugi glared at her, Chloe snapping her attention away from her drawing to him again, staring at him.

"We've heard stories of you, one of my brothers always wanted to be you in our games. I know you, King of Games." Yugi stared at her, Chloe turning away to her drawing. He didn't have long to ponder over her words, turning to the closet as the doors shook again.

"Trish, keep an eye on her, I'm going to finish this." He ran out of the room, nearly falling down the stairs before bursting out into the street. He turned, freezing as he saw the crowd gathered at the end of the street, his mind working quickly. The Olympic torch must be passing by the street, which meant that this was the perfect chance. Yugi smiled and turned to run towards the end of the street. The torch would be run to the stadium where people were cheering in support of their country, loving their country, certainly it would be enough for the Isolus, especially with the heat from the fire itself.

Yugi pushed his way through the crowd, using his short size to his full advantage. He was stopped from the edge of the street by a policeman, Yugi flinching back a bit, ducking under a waving arm to stare down the street. He smiled as he saw the torch, reaching into his pocket to pull the pod, cradling it carefully in his hand. In the middle of the pod was a pulsing with a gentle light, Yugi smiling and running a finger over the surface of the pod before looking up, taking a deep breath. There was no way he would be able to amble over and just drop the pod in the torch, so he would just have to throw it. Praying that, for once, he would be able to make a good throw, Yugi tossed the pod.

He watched it as it tumbled end over end, falling neatly into the torch, Yugi smiling and punching the air in victory. He turned around, rushing back to the house to tell Trish the news. And, if he thought right, Chloe wouldn't be able to hold the people in the pictures anymore; the Isolus was the one controlling the ionic energy. Everyone would be released from the pictures, which meant that the Pharaoh would be free. Even now he could see children popping into existence, the kids rushing to their parents. Yugi smiled, turning around to see if the Pharaoh was back, only to stop and stare as he saw a red light flickering in Chloe's room.

If all the ionic energy was released, then that drawing would be let loose. Yugi cursed and sprinted for the door, slipping into the house as it slammed shut. He turned to look at it a moment before turning, watching as Chloe and Trish came down the stairs, the two of them oblivious to the red light that was growing stronger. Trish stopped when she saw the worry on his face, turning to look up the stairs and screaming, quickly shoving Chloe behind her. "No!"

"Chloe. I'm coming to hurt you, Chloe!"

Yugi growled and bounded up the stairs, stopping halfway as he realized something. The drawing had been fueled by Chloe's fear of her father and it had been stopped by that before. Maybe if she could get that back under control, then the drawing would disappear. He turned to look at Chloe and Trish, his gaze dropping to Chloe as the girl coughed, something white floating out of her mouth.

The Isolus looked like a jellyfish, the delicate white creature hovering in the air in front of Chloe before reaching out to touch her nose. Chloe stared at it before cupping her hands under it, allowing the Isolus to land there, turning to look at Yugi in fear. Yugi nodded to the girl, silently promising that he would keep her safe. "Trish, sing."

"What?"

"I'll distract it, just calm Chloe down, it's feeding off her fear and it should go away if you just calm her down."

"What are you going to do?"

"Something stupid." Yugi bounded up the rest of the stairs, turning to the door, watching as the red light leaked from under it, his heart pounding as he watched it began to inch open. He closed his eyes to concentrate, viciously prodding the fragment to life as he tried to think of a plan. He had seen the Pharaoh speed up time once, when Yugi had been threatened by a Cyberman, but it had taken a lot of effort and the Pharaoh had been almost completely useless. But it was the only thing he could think of. If he could manipulate time enough to slow down that thing, then Trish could calm Chloe down.

Yugi took a deep breath, trying to calm his own breathing as he felt the burn trickle through him, hating that it was so slow. He shut his eyes, trying to encourage the fragment to move faster, only barely remembering the Pharaoh's warning that the piece of the time vortex was changing him and that it would kill him if it changed him too fast. But there were people's lives at stake, he wasn't that important.

The fragment snagged on something, that was the closest feeling he could get to what happened, Yugi waiting for something to happen. He slumped when nothing did; about to open his eyes when the melody in his head rose up until it was the only thing he could think of. Yugi gasped, his head lolling back for a moment before it moved, Yugi only barely aware that his body was there. He opened his eyes, Yugi concentrating on the melody, slowing it down carefully. To his surprise, the melody listened to him, Yugi wanting to laugh even as he was aware that he was burning up.

He glanced up, staring at the hulking man that stood in front of him, trying to move past him even as it was slowed down. The drawing grumbled something, Yugi unable to hear it, just watching as the drawing struggled to move forward. It was a moment later that the drawing perked up, trembling in place before screaming, Yugi hesitating before acting, trying to shove the fragment back into its corner. The fragment fought for a moment before finally relenting, gathering all of the energy that it had lent him before disappearing back into the corner of his mind.

Yugi blinked rapidly, glancing up at the shrinking drawing, a weak smile crossing his face as he swayed in the hallway. He had done it, he had given Trish the time to calm Chloe and, from what he could feel, he hadn't done that much damage to himself. There was still the lingering burn in his veins, but that was disappearing quickly, Yugi's smile widening before he collapsed onto the floor.

* * *

The Pharaoh looked up as Trish walked past, smiling at the woman before returning his attention to Yugi, his companion laid out on the sofa. He reached out to push one of Yugi's bangs away from his face, smiling at the happy hum that it drew from Yugi. The Pharaoh shook his head and sighed, adjusting the blanket over Yugi. Neither Chloe nor Trish knew what happened to him, they had just found him collapsed on the floor of the hallway, but the Pharaoh suspected he knew what happened. Yugi had used the fragment of the time vortex to help them.

He reached up to rest his fingers against Yugi's temples, closing his eyes and gently probing Yugi's mind, searching for any damage done by the fragment, pulling back when there was none. He slumped against the sofa, holding Yugi's hand carefully in his own.

The Pharaoh shifted to make room for Trish again, the woman bustling around the house to clean up the dinner that they had eaten while they had watched the opening ceremonies of the games, something that Yugi would have loved to see. The Time Lord looked over at Chloe, the girl curled up in a chair with a book. He had noticed that she had stopped drawing for now, reaching for a pencil and paper sometimes only to put them down with a shiver. But she would get over her fear soon enough and return to normal, the Pharaoh smiled to himself at that.

He turned back to his companion as he saw Yugi stirring, the human groaning and sitting up, the blanket sliding off of him. The Pharaoh moved from his place on the floor, supporting Yugi's torso long enough to slide onto the couch before pushing Yugi back down onto his legs, the human not protesting the move. Yugi stared up at him, obviously trying to gather himself together, trying to move again only to be pushed back down by the Pharaoh. "Easy."

"W-what happened?"

"You did something stupid."

"Oh. Ouch." Yugi ignored his request to continue lying down, sitting up and resting his head on the Pharaoh's shoulder. His gaze strayed to the television, staring at the screen before groaning. "I missed the opening ceremonies."

"Yes, you did." The Pharaoh sighed and wrapped an arm around Yugi's waist, his companion leaning against him with a long sigh. The Time Lord chuckled, resting his cheek on top of Yugi's head. "Maybe that will teach you not to mess with the dangerous fragment in your head."

"Sorry, I was just trying to save the world."

"Of course you were." The Pharaoh gave Yugi a careful squeeze, his companion smiling at that before sitting up straight at the sound of something exploding. He turned back to the Pharaoh with a smile before standing up. He swayed unsteadily on his feet for a moment before tugging at the Pharaoh's hand.

"Come on, fireworks!" Yugi gave his arm one last tug before sprinting for the door, the Pharaoh shaking his head before standing up to follow Yugi, waiting for Chloe to rush past him before stepping outside. He spotted Yugi easily, the human standing in the dark with his face tilted up to the sky. The Pharaoh walked over to Yugi, looping an arm around Yugi's waist, turning to look up at the fireworks, listening to the rest of the residents talk excitedly amongst themselves.

Yugi shifted, leaning on him again as they watched the fireworks, the Pharaoh closing his eyes and enjoying this moment of closeness. He jumped as he felt Yugi poke him, the human smirking and gesturing back up to the fireworks. "You're missing the show."

The Pharaoh rolled his eyes and turned his gaze back up to the fireworks, holding Yugi close to him. It was frightening, sometimes, how little Yugi cared for himself when other people were in danger, but it was also something that the Pharaoh liked about his companion. But part of him wished that Yugi would talk his plans over with him before his companion acted, the Pharaoh already seeing Yugi's side of the argument. Then he would have to discuss more of his plans with Yugi, which would often be counterproductive since he just made things up as he went along.

Yugi poked him again, the human smiling up at him before wrapping his arms around the Pharaoh. "You're thinking hard about something."

He just nodded, pulling Yugi close and holding him tightly, the last of the lights from the fireworks disappearing into the sky. The Pharaoh watched as the other residents walked back into their homes, Chloe and Trish retreating to their own house moments later. The Time Lord looked back over his shoulder, giving them a nod of thanks which Trish returned before the door shut. He turned his attention back to Yugi, knowing that they would have to leave soon, but he wanted to enjoy this one moment of calm before they barreled into trouble again; it had been too long since they had just stood together.

The Pharaoh closed his eyes, allowing himself to feel the Earth beneath his feet before extending the feel to Yugi, listening to the small gasp that his companion gave. He felt Yugi get a better grip on him before the human looked up at him. "How fast is it again?"

"Thousand miles an hour." Yugi shivered at that, the Pharaoh getting a better hold on him. "And we're going around the sun at sixty-seven thousand miles an hour. But don't worry, Yugi, I'm not letting you go."

"I promised you forever, didn't I? You can't get rid of me, ever."

The Pharaoh nodded, ready to respond when he felt a jerk, glancing down at Yugi. From the expression on his companion's face, Yugi had felt the faint warning that had drifted through time. The Time Lord glanced around before taking Yugi's hand and pulling him into a run, the two of them running back to the TARDIS as fast as they could, the Pharaoh nearly throwing Yugi in before he slammed the door. He barely heard the TARDIS' worried hum, backing up to reach out for Yugi before tugging him through the halls of the TARDIS, pulling the human into his bedroom and pulling Yugi onto the bed before holding him close.

Yugi clung tightly to him, shivering every once and a while, but remained as close as possible, the Pharaoh staring towards the door like the thing that they had just sensed would come for them now; like it was actually tangible. He had already lost everything, he wouldn't lose Yugi. He couldn't lose Yugi. He was too dependant on the human for his life, his sanity. Yugi had brought him back from a point where he would have wasted away his remaining lives in quick succession just to deal with the pain from the Time War, Yugi had given him a purpose. He was strong enough to defy the run of time itself; he had survived so many times before; so he was strong enough to defy the words of the Beast.

Yugi would not die while he was around. He would protect his companion, even if it meant giving up all his lives. Yugi was worth fighting for.

But that didn't change the fact that the storm was coming, a storm that had been gathering a long time. What they were waiting for now was the storm to break, and the dire consequences to follow.


	31. Army of Ghosts

** Chapter Thirty: Army of Ghosts **

_"I thought it would never end…That's what I thought, but then came the army of ghosts, then came Torchwood and the war. That's when it all ended. This is the story of how I died."  
-Rose Tyler_

Yugi rushed around his room, packing his dirty clothes into his bag, planning to use his mother's washing machine while he was home. The last thing that he packed in his bag was the tiny dome of Bazoolium that he had gotten for his mother at the bazaar, Yugi carefully wrapping it up before closing his bag, looking around his room before walking to the door, swinging his jacket over his shoulder as he walked into the corridor. He nearly skipped to the console room, smiling brightly at the Pharaoh, the Time Lord giving him an equally bright smile back, both of them ignoring the fact that they were running from something.

Every since that night in 2012, they had both been haunted by the feeling that something was hovering for them, the Pharaoh nearly desperate to find a place where they would be safe, but there was nowhere were that feeling didn't exist. Yugi could tell that it was wearing on the Time Lord, the Pharaoh barely having the energy to drag himself around. He had gone back to his old habit of nearly never sleeping until last night when the Pharaoh had collapsed from exhaustion, Yugi curling up close to him. It was only this morning that Yugi had shyly offered the idea of going home and the Pharaoh had jumped on it.

Yugi walked up to where the Pharaoh was, shrugging off his backpack and putting it on the ground by the console. Immediately, his arms went around the Time Lord, holding the Pharaoh close to him as the Time Lord made the last adjustments to the TARDIS. He felt the Pharaoh hesitate for a moment before familiar arms wrapped around him. "Yugi…"

"I'm not going to die. You're not going to lose me." Yugi pressed himself closer to the Pharaoh, hating the fact that he couldn't get close enough. He was the only thing keeping the Pharaoh sane and vice versa, they only had each other in the universe now, especially with that foreboding feeling hovering over their heads. Yugi took a deep breath, trying to ignore the shudder that came with it. "I promised you forever, and you will get every bit of that forever."

The Pharaoh just nodded, Yugi feeling him gather fistfuls of his shirt as the Time Lord tried to pull him closer. Yugi bit his lip, hoping that it would keep back the sob that he could feel building. If he was honest with himself, he hadn't gotten much more sleep that the Pharaoh, snatching naps when he could and waking up frightened most of the time, the melody in his head warning him of something big coming. He closed his eyes and just focused on the Pharaoh, it was the only thing grounding him at the moment.

"Aibou…"

Yugi took a deep breath before shaking his head. "We have to go out there."

"We don't."

"I can't make you stay in here, Pharaoh. Whatever is coming, we'll face it and we can beat it. We've beat everything else." He felt the Time Lord nod slowly, shivering as the Pharaoh kissed his neck. Yugi rested his head against the Pharaoh's shoulder, staring at the TARDIS console, trying to just concentrate on the alien in his arms and nothing else, but his mind wouldn't let him rest. The words from the Beast haunted him, and his own conviction that this really was the end for him, but he hadn't told the Pharaoh about the last part, he couldn't after the way the Time Lord had held him close after they had both sensed something coming for them. Yugi shivered and turned his head, pressing his forehead into the Pharaoh's shoulder. "I don't want to go."

The Pharaoh shifted, moving Yugi so that he could lean down and gently kiss him, Yugi reaching up to bury his fingers in the Pharaoh's hair. The desperate kisses had stopped weeks ago, slow and lingering kisses replacing them as they tried to savor what they had. Yugi shivered as the Pharaoh's hands drifted down his body, panting when they finally pulled apart. He tried to smile, sure that the smile didn't reach his eyes, reaching down to pick up his bag.

He walked to the doors of the TARDIS, stepping out into the open and glancing around, smiling at the sight of his old apartment complex. Yugi stepped to one side to allow the Pharaoh to walk out behind him, turning and offering his hand to the Time Lord. The Pharaoh immediately caught it up, holding it tightly as they walked across the space to the stairs that would lead up to Yugi's apartment. Yugi leaned against the Pharaoh the entire way, wanting to stay as close as possible to the Time Lord in their remaining time together.

Yugi had to move away as they crossed the balcony, twisting slightly to dig his keys out of his backpack and using them to unlock the door, taking a deep breath of the familiar scent of home. "Mom, we're back!"

Junri appeared, wiping her hands on a towel. She smiled at them both before throwing the towel over her shoulder and rushing to hug Yugi, holding him close before letting him go. She turned to the Pharaoh, pulling him into a hug as well. Yugi couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up at the sight of the Time Lord struggling to get away from his mother, getting a kiss on his cheek for his troubles. Yugi smiled at him, watching the Pharaoh wipe off his cheek before reaching out to pull him into the living room. "Welcome to the family."

"I wasn't aware that I was settling down."

"I didn't tell you? I come as part of a package deal."

The Pharaoh flopped down onto the sofa, rolling his eyes. "Now you tell me."

Yugi ignored the open invitation to sit beside the Pharaoh, setting his backpack down and reaching into it to pull out the carefully wrapped dome. He smiled to himself, cradling it in his hands before looking up, Junri walking over to him with a look of awe on her face. He held it out to her. "As promised. Happy, belated birthday, Mom."

"Oh, Yugi, it's beautiful!" Junri reached out and took it from him, cradling it in her hand before placing it on the mantle. "It'll go there. Now, I have a surprise for you."

Yugi saw the Pharaoh tense on the sofa, reaching back in a motion to calm the Time Lord, but he felt his stomach twist in fear. They had tried to stay away from surprises since 2012, wanting to be sure that nothing would happen to either of them. He swallowed and fought to put a smile back on his face, glad that Junri had turned around. "S-surprise?"

"Yes." His mother glanced down at her watch before nodding. "Any minute now, he'll be showing up."

Yugi shivered as she walked back into the kitchen, glancing back at the Pharaoh before quickly following her, hearing the Pharaoh follow his lead. A protective arm was slipped around his waist, Yugi reaching down to rest his hand over the Pharaoh's, watching his mother bustle around the small kitchen. "Mom, who are you talking about?"

Junri paused and looked back at him. "Your grandfather, silly."

Yugi felt the Pharaoh moved to draw him away from the kitchen, pulling against the pressure, clinging to the door of the kitchen as he tried to sort out what his mother had just said. He had only one grandfather that he knew about, and Yugi had watched him get hit by a car in 1986, he had tried to save him then too. But his grandfather was dead, Yugi was sure of it. "Sugoroku?"

"Of course! Do you have any other grandfather?" Junri glanced down at her watch again before nodding. "He should be here…and there."

Yugi gasped and moved backward quickly, nearly tripping over the Pharaoh as the watched the ghostly grey form move through the wall and into the kitchen. He felt the Pharaoh get a good grip on him, pulling him out of the way. Yugi glanced over at his mother, hoping to see her running as well, but Junri was only smiling at the ghostly figure, turning to look at Yugi with concern. "Yugi? It's only your grandfather. What are you worried about?"

He turned and ran for the door, pulling it open and stumbling to the balcony, his eyes going wide as he stared down at the space below him. The Pharaoh followed him out, glancing around before rushing towards the stairs, Yugi glancing back at his apartment before following the Time Lord, catching up to the Pharaoh as he reached the bottom of the stairs. They stumbled out into the open, watching similar ghostly shapes moving around the open space, the residents of the apartment complex watching them. Yugi shook his head, turning around to look at the Pharaoh, his eyes widening. "Look out!"

The Time Lord turned, shuddering as a ghost walked right through him. The Pharaoh placed a hand over his chest, stumbling backwards and panting heavily, staring after the ghost before looking up at Yugi. The human walked over, resting a hand on the Pharaoh's shoulder while watching the ghosts move around. They all looked human in shape, a vague grey outline that darkened in color towards the center. They milled around in small groups, sometimes wandering around on their own, but remaining in an ordered formation, too military for Yugi's taste. He shook his head, and glanced back at the Pharaoh. "Alright there?"

"Yeah…" The Pharaoh shook his head, standing up straight and staring at the ghosts, Yugi shivering and scooting closer to him. The Time Lord draped and arm around his shoulders, shaking his head and turning Yugi to head back to the apartment, both of them coming up short when the ghosts faded away. Yugi glanced back at the Pharaoh, the Time Lord shaking his head and moving forward again.

They both remained silent as they walked up the stairs, Junri waiting for them by the apartment door with that smile on her face. She waved them in, Yugi going to the chair and collapsing into it, watching at the Pharaoh walked into the kitchen, probably to investigate the place where the ghost had been. Yugi sunk back into the chair, Junri sitting on the sofa. "I thought you would react like that, but it's nothing horrible. They've had people investigating it for weeks and they've said they're harmless."

"So are many other things, but that doesn't mean they can't kill you." Yugi looked back at the Pharaoh, the Time Lord leaning against the kitchen doorway and looking more alert than he had in weeks. He almost smiled at that, Yugi shifting in his chair so he could look at the Pharaoh as the Time Lord stared down his mother. "How long has this been happening?"

"A few months." Junri shrugged. "Everyone was in panic because they were all over the world. But then we realized that they were just our loved ones come back to us. They do everything right, they even smell like them. Dad smells like the old game shop, dust and plastic." She turned to look at Yugi. "Can't you smell it?"

He shook his head. "I couldn't smell anything, Mom."

Junri looked surprised for a moment before she scooted to the edge of her seat, reaching out to touch Yugi's hand. "You've got to try, sweetheart. You've got to want it."

"And that's what's bringing them here." The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow, Yugi looking helplessly between her and the alien. "The whole of the human race wishing and hoping those things in."

"'Those things' are our loved ones!"

"The may look and act like humans, but they might not be." The Pharaoh glared at her before sighing and rubbing his forehead. "Sometimes the things that are too good to be true are the worst. Now, when's the next appearance?"

Junri bit her lip, looking to Yugi for support. He just shrugged, wanting to stay neutral in all of this. As much as he wanted to believe that the ghost was his grandfather, there was no way for him to believe that. He had stood there and held Sugoroku's hand while the elderly man hand died. There was no way that he was coming back, even if ghosts did exist, Sugoroku had been at peace when he had died. Yugi lowered his eyes, Junri sighing and patting his hand. "It's alright Yugi, I should have called you when this started, but I had to get my hopes up."

Yugi looked up; ready to apologize, but his mother had already pulled herself together. He should have listened to his instinct when she had called and come home. If she hadn't been feeling bad, then she wouldn't have been so ready to believe that the ghost was her father. He rubbed his hands over his face, staring at the floor. Some part of him wondered that, if they hadn't done to 2012, they would have never had to face the fear that something horrible was coming.

"Early evening. Usually around five." Yugi glanced up at his mother, his gaze darting to the Pharaoh, watching as the Time Lord nodded. He sighed and leaned back in the chair, his mother scooting back on the sofa and beginning to fill him in on the news, Yugi smiling at the sudden easing of tension. Maybe it had been right to come here after all to escape from the impeding danger, he was feeling a bit steadier already, the cold fear retreating.

He listened to his mother talk, focusing more on the sound of her voice than what she said, Yugi only moving when the Pharaoh came over, scooting over in the chair to allow the Time Lord to sit with him. Yugi ended up being pulled onto the Pharaoh's lap, settling into a comfortable position. He blushed when he realized what he had done, his mother raising an eyebrow but not making a comment beyond that. He thought he heard the Pharaoh chuckle, rolling his eyes before leaning back against the Time Lord.

* * *

Mai Kujaku strolled out of her office, fiddling absently with her sunglasses as she stared at the bright light coming from the opposite wall. She smiled, before turning to one of the computer technicians on the sides of the room, the man nodding and quickly typing in a code, the two scientists working the levers on either side of the room easing them back. The light dimmed as the levers were returned to their starting position, pointing towards the blank wall; only then did she take off her sunglasses and shake out her blonde hair.

She smiled at all the workers in the room, noting a glance that a young woman gave one of the men, blushing. Mai smiled wistfully at that, noting the beginnings of an office romance. The two would often meet for lunch and be seen leaving together, Mai remembering the times when she had been courted like that fondly. She quickly shook the nostalgia off, not wanting to remember the man that she had once dated. She had gotten away from him as quickly as she could; there was nothing else she could do when he had been accused of murdering his best friend. Torchwood would have passed her over for the promotion if they had known that she had stayed with him. But the shy glances of the two in front of her made her remember.

It was at times like this that she missed Joey Wheeler.

Mai cleared her throat, nodding at all the people in the room and automatically congratulating them. She turned to listen to the scientists talking about what they could improve, not really hearing a word they were saying, it was one of her bad days, when nothing seemed to stick and her head was full of a blonde man with a bright smile. Mai rubbed her temples, the sunglasses tapping against her head. It was only then that the scientists drifted away, not wanting to disturb their leader.

She sighed and turned to go back to her office, pausing when she heard shy footsteps behind her. She turned, watching the brunette walk towards her, the young woman ducking her head in an attempt to hide her blush. Mai just fought back a smile, absently adjusting the jacket that she wore. "Miss Mazaki?"

Nashi Mazaki blushed and looked away from Mai, her hands closing around the stack of files that she held. "Dr. Singh asked that these be delivered down to him as soon as possible. H-he said that he had already finished with the other ones."

Mai looked up, watching as the young man that Nashi had been looking at before also got up, seeming to organize himself for an errand. She smiled and tilted her head to the side; the two seemed to think that they were being discrete with their clandestine meetings in the halls. Normally, she would have called a stop to this, but they were good about doing it only when they had a firm excuse for it and after their errands had been run. In any case, Rajesh needed those files, both to help with the further organization of Torchwood, but also to keep him from going mad with boredom. Mai weighed her option before nodding, waving her hand to send Nashi on, the girl smiling and bustling off.

"Files of reports for-"

"Yes." She waved off Nashi's young man, too tired to remember his name at the moment. Mai rubbed her forehead before retreating to her glass office, pausing to look out the window, straight out so she wouldn't get vertigo from the drop. It was only a short glance, Mai not wanting to give herself the chance to look out to where Joey had lived, the blonde woman shrugging before moving back to her desk, slumping in the chair and booting up her computer with a few despondent taps on the touchpad. Honestly, she thought she would be over him by now.

Mai looked up as the computer's screen flickered on, checking to be sure that the webcam was working before starting up a call to the Vault. While she waited for the connection to go through, she pulled up the figures for the Ghost Shift, a real smile coming to her face as she looked over them, glad that something was going right with her day. They were making progress on the Ghost Shift and harvesting the power from manipulating the spatial disturbance. Soon they would have enough to send to the other departments within the building. Mai minimized the window when she saw that Rajesh was settling himself back in his chair with a long sigh. "Long day?"

"Yeah." Rajesh Signh took off his glasses to rub his eyes, letting his glasses dangle from his hand as he stared at the screen. "Research and Development came in with more stuff to monitor the Sphere, swearing that it would work this time. And guess what?"

"It didn't."

"Right on the money, Mai. It's still recording as nothing to our sensors, absolutely nothing. And yet, it's there." Rajesh ran a hand through his short hair and sighed, shaking his head.

Mai smiled at his obvious boredom, leaning forward. "Found anything good?"

"Oh yes, I'm up to the late seventies now, U.N.I.T is around to mess all of our filing up." Rajesh pretended to pout before digging through his notes, searching for good tidbits. Stuck in the Vault with just the Sphere for company, Rajesh had quickly volunteered himself to go through some of the older flies and input them into the system, tying up the old and sloppy notes to try and streamline the artifact processing time. It was something for him to do since the Sphere had baffled their technicians for close to ten years now, but they would crack it eventually, even with all the interference from Torchwood Three. Mai scowled at the thought of the rag-tag team before shaking her head, managing to smile when Rajesh popped back up. "A, and I quote, 'most impossible diamond' was found a few years ago in a crater up north. Apparently, it has been deemed priceless. It fell from the sky and all attempts to trace it back to its origin planet have been thwarted. It's just a big space where it should have come from."

"A diamond, huh?"

"Knew you would be interested." Rajesh winked before shuffling through the papers, shaking his head with a sigh. "There's been nothing interesting, not since that Immortality Gate."

"Ah, sorry about the slow day then."

Rajesh just waved off her concerns, clearing his throat and turning to look at her, suddenly serious. "And what about you? You sound like you're having one of those days."

Mai attempted to glare at him before giving a sigh of defeat. "Yes, I've been thinking about the bad choices of my past, but I'm over them, I promise."

"Mai."

She glanced out towards the other people before shaking her head and lowering her voice to a harsh whisper. "What was I supposed to do? I worked for Torchwood then too, how was I supposed to keep from telling Junri and Joey that I know who had taken Yugi, especially after all of the stories that Miho told me? I couldn't just leave them to cry over Yugi without telling them, Junri is like a second mother to me. So, I left before I could compromise myself."

"It wasn't the smartest choice."

"It got me this promotion."

"For all the good that will do you."

Mai narrowed her eyes before clearing her throat, suddenly eager to get off the line with Rajesh. "I sent Nashi off with the other files you requested, she should be there shortly. Talk to you later, Dr. Singh."

Rajesh sighed off without a goodbye, Mai wanting nothing more to rage at him for being so insensitive and so right. But her office was in full view, glass on all sides; she was in the view of all of her staff at all times so she couldn't break down. She was the director of Torchwood One, a highly coveted position. She was working for the betterment of the world, for the defense of the Earth against aliens and to make sure that the Pharaoh didn't threaten them anymore. She normally ignored the part about the reestablishment of the British Empire, thinking that the Westerners had some odd priorities.

She glanced at the sunglasses on her desk, reaching out to touch them before looking back at the lever room. She had enough to worry about here without her mind going back to her past life before she rose up the ranks in Torchwood. Mai sighed and stood up, walking to the door of her office and looking around the stark white room, reminding herself that she had worked hard for this. "Prepare for the next Ghost Shift!"

* * *

"Jun!" Nashi laughed and allowed herself to be dragged down the hallway, stopping her boyfriend in front of the plastic sheets where the construction crews were working on renovating Kaiba Tower. From what she understood of the contract between Kaiba Corporation and Torchwood, Torchwood would keep the tower in good repair while they used it, leaving Kaiba Corporation to conduct business in a city more suited to their market. Still, it was annoying when renovations would start and the staff wouldn't be notified until they saw the plastic sheets themselves.

She tugged at Jun's hand again, the man reluctantly slowing down. "Jun, I have to get back to work. It's not worth it if it'll get me fired."

"Come on Nashi." Then he smiled that smile that always managed to melt her heart. "It'll only be for a few more minutes. They don't need us for another half-an-hour; we'll be back in plenty of time."

She shook her head, unsure that was the response she was going for. Jun pouted, looking at her longingly. "Please, Nashi. You know I miss you during the day."

"Jun, you sit right across the room from me."

"A distance too large to jump. Please, do me the honor of one kiss and one hug, a few stolen moments before we go back to the drudgery of work."

Nashi stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter, Jun following her. "W-where did you get that from? Is that from some movie?"

"No. I made it up on the spot. And it almost worked. Curse you modern sensibilities." Jun smiled before motioning to the plastic sheets. "Please, Nashi, just a minute. I swear I won't ask for more."

"Well…" She let herself linger over the question, watching as Jun squirmed before she made up her mind. "Better make it a good kiss."

He smiled and disappeared behind the plastic sheet, Nashi hesitating for a moment to look down the hallway in both ways before slipping in after him. She realized her mistake quickly, having lost Jun in the tangle of plastic, Nashi shivering and turning on the spot before picking a random direction, hoping that she wouldn't walk right off the side of the building. It would be a long fall from the top. Nashi shivered at the idea before pushing through a few more layers, jumping when she spotted a human shape through the sheets. "Oh, sorry."

There was no response from the shape, Nashi tilting her head to the side before clearing her throat, watching the shape shift a bit. She smiled and stood up straight. "Excuse me, could you tell me if you've seen a young man. I've seen to have lost mine and-"

Nashi stood in horror as the shape moved toward her, shifting the curtain aside enough for her to look at it, and to realize that it wasn't human. She stumbled backwards, her hand reaching into her pocket for her phone, only to drop it to the floor. Nashi went to lunge for it, only to feel a heavy hand come down on her shoulder, the young woman only able to scream as she was dragged away.

* * *

He heard Yugi walk into the TARDIS, peeking up from his place under the grating to smile at his companion before ducking back down, grabbing a piece of equipment from one of the trunks that he kept down there. He tossed it up onto the main deck of the TARDIS before hauling himself out from under the grate, smiling as he watched Yugi examine the backpack that he had dug out. His companion ran his hand over the leather straps before shaking his head. "Don't tell me you influenced the movie Ghostbusters."

"I did no such thing." The Pharaoh swung the backpack onto his back, picking up two of the small pyramids off the ground, leaving Yugi to pick up the last one. They arranged them a good distance away from the TARDIS in a triangle shape, the Pharaoh adjusting the distance between them before waving Yugi back into the TARDIS, noticing that Junri had joined them inside the time machine. She still looked a bit stunned by its size, but she seemed to be taking it in stride, more for Yugi's sake than anything else. He smiled at that before tugging the view screen around to him, staring at it as he quickly set up a program to record the information that he would get, partially listening to the conversation between Yugi and his mother.

"You've grown, sweetheart."

"No I haven't, I'm still short."

"No, grown in a different way. It's like…it's like I can barely understand your reasons for doing things anymore. It kind of scares me, Yugi."

The Pharaoh glanced up at Yugi, watching as his companion paled for a moment before forcing himself to laugh. "Don't worry about me, Mom."

"But I do. What'll happen years from now when I'm dead? Will you come back to Earth at all, or will you just travel on with the Pharaoh? And what happens when you're too old for this?"

"The Pharaoh will take care of me, Mom. He promised you that. You can trust him." The Pharaoh glanced up again, meeting Junri's gaze before looking down at the screen, his hearts pounding. He had promised her that he would take care of Yugi, but he wasn't too sure about that now, not with that impeding danger that they had both felt coming. But he would try, because he couldn't live in a world where Yugi didn't exist. He nodded slowly, more to reassure Junri than himself, turning quickly to gather control of himself before pushing the screen over to Yugi.

"Alright, I'm leaving you in control of the stuff in here, alright?" He ignored Yugi's little victory dance, pulling out his sonic screwdriver and handing it to his companion. "So, hold this here for eight seconds and then watch that line. If it goes above or below the blue line, press this button." The Pharaoh pointed at a strangely shaped knob on the console, watching as Yugi tried to memorize it. "Not the one below it, it would eventually lead to the complete destruction of the Earth. But the line should hold. Got it?"

"Eight seconds. Stay on blue line. Don't blow us up. Got it." Yugi gave him a smile, the Pharaoh pausing long enough to kiss his companion's forehead before grabbing a spool of wire and rushing outside, hurriedly connecting the end to the point of the triangle. He turned and awkwardly wrestled the nozzle part of the backpack off and placed it on the tip of the first pyramid, listening carefully to the whine of the machinery and moving on the next one when the whine disappeared. He repeated the process until he had moved around the whole triangle, backing away with a hand in his pocket.

The Pharaoh glanced back up at Yugi, his companion giving him a cheerful wave from the console to show that the line was holding, the Pharaoh nodding and staring at the thin line of electricity that was coming from the triangle. Now, it was only a matter of time until the next Ghost Shift started and then he would have what he needed. The Time Lord looked back at the center of the triangle before tensing, watching as something formed there. The ghost looked like all the others, vaguely human in shape and darker grey towards the center. He stared at the ghost, watching as it writhed in place, sometimes trying to last out at him, the Pharaoh tilting his head to the side at what he was sensing. It was something not of this world, not of this time, but almost close enough to pass. That thought alone made him dig around in his pocket to pull out the glasses that he kept there.

He gave the 3-D glasses a look of distaste before slipping them on, wishing that he had the technology that he could have easily grabbed from Gallifrey before, but wishing wouldn't do him any good. Besides, the glasses were the best he could do and probably the most accurate when compared to the other technology out there. He stared at the ghost, watching the red and green particles swirl around it with a sinking feeling. It was impossible, and yet it was here.

The Pharaoh scowled, taking off the glasses and putting them in his pocket. Whoever had the technology to do this obvious had no idea what they were doing, the Pharaoh shaking his head to clear it of thoughts as the ghost disappeared. He couldn't help the smile that crossed his face as he rushed to collect the equipment, managing to hold it all and backtrack to the TARDIS, double checking from the doors that he had everything before shutting them, and leaning against them with a sigh. Whoever had the technology to bring those ghosts into this world would probably have the technology track him from his interference with the process.

He pushed away from the door, Yugi rushing towards him to help him with the equipment, the Pharaoh opening the grate again and hopping under the console, his companion handing him the materials. "So, find anything?"

The Pharaoh hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Something interesting. We'll have to see about it when we meet these people."

"So you know where they are?"

"No, but the TARDIS should be able to track back the signal or the disturbance. She's a smart time machine." There was a happy hum from the TARDIS, Yugi smiling and reaching up to pet the time machine for him, passing down the next pyramid. "We'll head out and find them as soon as everything is stored, before they find us."

"What?"

"Yugi," the Pharaoh shifted to rest his arms on the grating, "if they have the technology to produce ghosts, then they have the technology to track us."

"Then why aren't we leaving now?"

"They already know we are here." The Pharaoh shoved the trunk back into place before hauling himself out of the gap, carefully lowering the grate back over it. "They might as well see who is coming for them."

"That bad?" The Pharaoh just nodded, moving to the console and setting the TARDIS into motion, easing her into the time vortex before turning around to look at Yugi, only then noticing his companion's distracted gaze. He froze for a moment, his mind jumping immediately to the worst possible situation, reaching out and gently brushing his fingers across Yugi's temples. He was too worried to notice that the connection sprang to life with little effort, searching through the Yugi's surface emotions. He gasped when Yugi pushed his hands away, his companion shaking his head. "My mom is still on board."

He paled, turning around to see Junri standing up unsteadily from the captain's chair, looking at him in horror. "This is how you drive?"

"She's an old ship. It's just a bit wobbly on entry." The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes, the old defense of the TARDIS springing up easily. Junri just shook her head, wandering towards a pillar to hold on, the TARDIS heading for the destination that she had calculated from the data. The Time Lord sighed, leaning against the console and shaking his head. "Why did you let me bring her along?"

"I didn't, you just rushed around and sent the TARDIS off. I didn't have time to warn her." Yugi laughed, leaning against the console, automatically adjusting for the rock of the TARDIS. "Besides, I thought you liked her."

"I can stand her, they're two different things. Besides, it's different now that you and I are together. I can feel her judging me from here."

"She's not judging you." Yugi gave him a playful slap on the arm, the Pharaoh shooting a playful glare back before walking around the console, trying to steady the TARDIS' motion as they moved out of the vortex towards their destination. He made a full circle of the console, pausing when Yugi grabbed his sleeve and pulled him close, Yugi's hands slipping under the long coat that he wore. "Besides, she can't forbid me from seeing you. I'm an adult; I can make my own mistakes."

"Mistakes?"

"Figure of speech." Yugi smiled at him before moving away, pulling the view screen over to him and staring at it. The Pharaoh nodded in his direction, Yugi bracing himself before looking over at his mother. "Mom, brace yourself, it's going to get rough."

Junri just stared at him, grabbing a tight hold on one of the columns with a look of fright. The Pharaoh rolled his eyes, promising himself that he would double check his time machine before taking flight again; he didn't want any more stowaways. The TARDIS grumbled in his head, the Pharaoh glancing up at the ceiling in shock. Apparently the TARDIS just liked this whole family, the mental equivalent of a slap on the hand being dealt to him. The Pharaoh shook his head, circling the console again before landing his time machine.

He gave the view screen an idle glance, tensing as he watched the soldiers rush towards the TARDIS, eyeing the guns that they all carried. It was obvious that they all had some kind of training and were part of a group, the soldiers all wearing the same grey camouflage. He felt Yugi press into his side, his companion sucking in a quick breath of surprise before looking at the Pharaoh. The Time Lord just shrugged. "We'll have to go out."

"But they'll kill you!"

The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes, watching the men shift as they settled into their position. They were obviously still waiting for orders, which was why they had arranged themselves like that before shooting and why they were completely withholding their fire. They had waited for him.

The feeling of a building storm consumed him again, the Pharaoh glancing over at Yugi to see if his companion had the same feeling, surprised to see Yugi just completely focused on the soldiers. Maybe the incident of before had just been a fluke, the one time the time vortex fragment had been in tune with Yugi instead of fighting against him. After all, Yugi had just tapped into its power to save Trish and Chloe. The Pharaoh turned back to the screen, resisting the urge to run his hand through his hair; there was no reason to be debating over this, there was only one decision to be made.

He reached out to push Yugi gently to one side, giving his companion a smile before heading towards the doors. Yugi lunged for him, grabbing onto his arm and nearly pulling the Pharaoh down to the floor. "You can't go out there!"

"Yugi, they would have shot us before now. My question is why haven't they? There's something going on here, Yugi and we have to find out."

"Please, can we just leave it?" The Pharaoh's eyes widened, Yugi looked shocked with himself before he pulled the Pharaoh into a hug, the Time Lord surprised to feel his companion shivering. He wrapped his arms around Yugi, cradling the human close. "I don't want to lose you. I can still feel that thing…that storm, it's coming for us and I'm afraid."

"I am too." The Pharaoh kissed Yugi's neck, resting his head against Yugi's shoulder. "But we have to see what this is."

"Is it that dangerous?"

The Pharaoh glanced over at Junri, Yugi's mother watching the two of them carefully, but the Time Lord could see a hint of fear in her eyes. He closed his eyes, trying to force the lie out of his mouth, trying to go back to the old time when they would just blithely run into danger and come out laughing, but it wouldn't come to him. Finally, he sighed and nodded. "Yes."

Yugi pulled away, smiling as he brushed the Pharaoh's bangs back from his face, a move that the Time Lord usually used with Yugi. His companion gave him a soft smile before kissing him. "Be safe."

"You too. Now, wait here until you get a chance to look around."

"R-right." They both ignored the quiver in Yugi's voice, the Pharaoh giving a nod to Junri before stepping out of the TARDIS, slipping through a space only big enough for him. If he could keep the soldiers from seeing Yugi, then it would be safer for his companion to wander around. He shrugged off his long coat and threw that back into the TARDIS as well, remembering to take out the sonic screwdriver at the last minute. While he wanted to leave it with Yugi, he would need it as well. The Pharaoh swallowed before turning towards the soldiers, slipping the sonic screwdriver into the pocket of his pants.

The soldiers held steady, the Pharaoh breathing a short sigh of relief, lowering his arms slowly. He looked up abruptly as a blonde woman charged in, a wide smile on her face as she came to a stop in the midst of the soldiers. She gasped at the sight of the TARDIS, her hands clasped together. The Pharaoh shifted nervously at the look, full of awe and greed. He forced himself not to tense, watching the woman walk towards them, it taking a while before her gaze darted down to him. There was another gasp, following by a peal of laughter. "Oh, the Pharaoh and the TARDIS. This must be my lucky day."

"Or your worst." The Pharaoh muttered the words under his breath before glaring at her, the blonde woman just shaking her head.

"Uh-uh. I know how you work. No questions and no answers." The woman shook a finger at him before throwing him a wink. "Although, they never told me you would look like this. I might just make an exception, but that might cost me my job. Oh, I hate these tough decisions." She sighed and straightened out her skirt. "In any case, you don't travel alone; your records say enough about that."

The Pharaoh was sure that he saw her eyes narrow for a moment, the Time Lord on alert after that slip in the woman's normally jovial tone. He tipped his head to the side, mentally calculating the risk before giving her a smile, not sure how the expression came out. The Pharaoh turned back to the TARDIS, opening the door and reaching inside. He felt Yugi's fingers brush over his palm, giving the digits a gently squeeze before moving and pulling Junri out of the TARDIS, ignoring her surprised look.

Apparently the move surprised the woman as well, the Pharaoh remaining silent the entire time and hoping that Yugi would be able to figure out his plan. He needed his companion to check out the building while he kept the head of it occupied with his presence, even as much as he wanted Yugi to be standing beside him right now. He gave Junri an apologetic glance before gesturing towards the blonde woman. "See, I'm not alone."

The blonde woman's mouth opened and shut, obviously trying to speak. The Pharaoh waited patiently before she just turned around, stiffly motioning them to follow. The Time Lord nudged Junri forward, giving the TARDIS one last look before following after them. Yugi would be safe, he knew that. As long as he could keep them distracted, Yugi would be safe. He turned his attention back to the woman leading them through the building, noticing that she was gradually thinning out the soldiers until there were only four guarding them. The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow at that, but said nothing, preferring to remain in silence and listen to what she had to say.

She stopped at a pair of double doors, giving the Pharaoh another glare before pushing them open, stepping into a large hanger-like area. "Welcome to Torchwood, Pharaoh."

He was about to consider the stress on his name when he realized what he was seeing, looking around the room that was piled high with alien artifacts and crates, his mind immediately going back to Van Statten's museum. But these people were different; they probably knew how to use all of these weapons and wouldn't hesitate to use them against him. The Pharaoh mentally began to catalogue all the items they had, ignoring the woman's shortened introductory speech. He snapped back to the present when she turned on him, tossing two large clamps that she had introduced as Magna-Clamps back into their crate. "But you would know all about stealing, wouldn't you, Pharaoh?"

He returned to glare. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Of course you don't." She gave a harsh laugh, motioning at something moving through the mess of boxes, the Pharaoh watching as the TARDIS was carted away. He sent a wave of reassurance down the link to Yugi, not sure if it made it or not, but he felt better about it. "You're just another alien come to lord over all of us."

"And you're just a thief. You steal from crashes and aliens in orbit." The Pharaoh glared at her. "What's all this for?"

"For the British, it's to get their empire back or some other nonsense, or at least that's what the employees say. I think it's a knock back to the original charter. I've read it, it mentions you and how you're a danger to the human race." She seemed to gloat when he started, the Pharaoh narrowing his eyes and glaring at her as she went on. "For me, it's revenge. You took away something dear to me."

The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow, glancing over to a corner where he saw the fragmented parts of a laser, badly assembled but usable. Surprisingly enough, it was the same class of laser that he remembered being used to shoot down the Sycoraxs on Christmas Eve. He looked around the room, spotting four other structures before he turned back to the blonde woman, aware that she was smirking at him. "And you murdered an innocent race."

"They would have come back, Pharaoh. They always come back, and nothing you can do can stop them." She shook her head before gesturing them onwards. "You can serve one more purpose before we lock you away. We need you to identify something."

"Why would I help you with that if you'll just lock me away?"

"Think of it as penance, for your sins."

The Pharaoh glared at her back before following her, completely at the mercy of the director of Torchwood for now. There would come a moment where the roles could be reversed and he would use that to his advantage. This woman could have thousands of documents on him and his actions over the years, but she would never know him; humans always underestimated him. He turned his attention to the hallway they were walking down, automatically searching for the exits that he could use, jumping when Junri reached out to touch his hand. "Will Yugi be safe?"

"The TARDIS will protect him. They'll never get in without me."

"Yes." Junri nodded impatiently. "But what about when he goes out?" The Pharaoh shot her a surprised look, Yugi's mother raising an eyebrow. "I saw the looks you were giving each other, you were planning something. And you took me instead of Yugi for a reason. We're the distraction, right?"

The Pharaoh could only nod, Junri sighing and rubbing her forehead. "But what happens when he goes out to look for whatever you asked him to? Will he be alright then?"

"He's a smart man, Junri, he'll be fine. He's learned a lot from me." She gave him a long look before going back to staring down the corridor, the Pharaoh not sure how to take that. He shrugged to himself, stepping into the elevator and away from the guards, noticing that the woman was giving him dirty looks still. The Pharaoh sighed and leaned over to Junri. "Who is she?"

"You can ask me that yourself."

He rolled his eyes and leaned back against the walls of the elevator. "I'd get my head snapped off for being an assuming, arrogant alien then. It seems that I can do nothing right by you."

The woman hesitated before turning around to face him, the Pharaoh momentarily stunned by the hatred in her eyes. "You can't, because you are just an alien who considers us humans lower than yourself and don't try and deny it, I can see it. You are the reason that I lost my boyfriend and my perfect life."

"You did that yourself, Mai!" Junri came to his defense, the Pharaoh quickly processing the information given to him. Yugi had told him briefly about Joey's life before the year that Yugi had missed, the year that Joey had been blamed for his murder. From what Yugi said, Joey's mother had moved his sister out to where she lived and his girlfriend had broken up with him. The Pharaoh turned to look at Mai, giving her a glance over. She didn't look too bad for one who proclaimed to be so broken up over the fact that she had lost her boyfriend.

He looked away as Mai glanced back at him, watching her out of the corner of his eye. She shook her head and pointed at him. "No, he did it. He was the reason this whole place was started. I stumbled upon it looking for work. My record was clean and I was hard working so I rose to the top quickly. I couldn't tell you guys anything about this place. And then Yugi got stolen away from you, and I had to watch you guys worry as you tried to figure out where he had got, all that time having everything you needed here. Junri, you were like a second mother to me and I couldn't watch you suffer, but I couldn't let go of this, so I broke away."

"And so you blame me."

"Because it was your fault!" Mai pointed at him, the Pharaoh glancing at the finger before looking back up at her, watching as she shivered and backed away a bit. "And where is Yugi now? Trapped on some prison? Dead and buried on some planet? Is that how you got Junri to come with you, the promise of finding her son? The son that you murdered!"

The Pharaoh pulled himself up to his full height, still having to tip his head back slightly to see Mai, but it was enough to intimidate the woman. Her shoulders slumped, enough of a sign of defeat to make the Pharaoh smile. His attention turned toward the elevator doors as they opened, the Time Lord shouldering past Mai. He followed the guards, the two obviously knowing where they were going, by-passing Mai completely. It was a small slight to her, but enough to damage her ego. He was sure that he would pay for it later, but he would see how long he could drag out this petty slight. Hopefully long enough that the repercussions would not be as harsh.

Mai nearly shoved him aside when they reached a steel door, whipping out a card to press against a scanner, smirking at the Pharaoh before walking into the room. The Pharaoh let the two guards go in first, staying close to Junri as they walked in. But his attention was quickly taken from Yugi's mother, his gaze fixed on the black sphere that hovered at the opposite side of the room. He crossed the room quickly, ignoring the man that came from behind the desk, stuttering in shock and the blonde lab assistant that he nearly ran into, walking up the steps until he had to crane his head up to look at it. He stared at the structure for a while, shaking his head before putting on the 3-D glasses, his heart sinking as he watched the green and red particles moved around the sphere. "This is your favor?"

"Yes." He glanced over his shoulder at them before sighing, taking the glasses off and sticking them back in his pocket, shaking his head as Mai crossed her arms. She was obviously going to wait until he talked or use force to get him to.

"It's a Void Ship."

"A what?"

The Pharaoh shot a glare at the scientist who had spoken, shaking his head. "Between worlds there's an empty space where nothing can survive. It's called the Void or the Howling by older races…or Hell." He shot another glance at the Sphere before stepping back down. "Where did you get this?"

"Oh, now you're interested." Mai's smirk was infuriatingly superior, the Pharaoh looking away from her as she laughed. "Is that all I have to do to get a response from you? Wave something interesting your way? Fine then. It came from the disturbance about a month ago; it was the first thing through. Three tries later, we had our ghosts."

"Show me." Mai just laughed, shaking her head. The Pharaoh glared at her before tuning around and striding toward the entrance, Junri following immediately on his heels. As he suspected, the guards turned moved to block the door, the Time Lord pausing in front of it to look back at Mai. "If you've read that much about me, you should know that you won't be able to keep me here for long. I'll escape."

"You won't."

He shrugged. "I always do. What makes you so different from the rest?"

Mai hesitated for a moment before nodding, motioning for the guards to let him through and hurrying after him. "Fine. I wouldn't had have time to take you to the holding cells anyway, the next Ghost Shift is starting soon."

The Pharaoh shrugged, following the guards back to the elevator. Let Mai posture and trying to get him to react to her taunts, but she would get nowhere. Right now, he was more worried about the presence of the Void ship. That kind of technology was almost legendary, the Time Lords never attempting it because they had their TARISes, the hardy time machines strong enough to move in and out of the Void and strong enough to survive it for short intervals. And no Time Lord spent more time in the Void than they had to.

But now, with the Time Lords gone, moving to parallel worlds was impossible, the only breaches left breaks in the fabric of the world, and it was never guaranteed that the break would go all the way through to the next world. There was a higher chance of getting trapped in the Void now that the Time Lords were dead; he was the only one to keep watch on the timelines. The Pharaoh held his breath for a moment, letting it hiss out between his teeth, hating the way that sounded. He preferred to think of himself as someone to correct all the things that went wrong with the timelines; it was nothing like the Time Lords used to do.

He looked up suddenly as Mai jostled him, the Time Lord forcing himself to withhold any comments as he stepped into the elevator; Mai was already giving him a chance to see what they were doing, he didn't want to tempt her anger any more than he needed to. The Pharaoh just shot her a look, Mai smiling smugly at him before turning to face the doors of the elevator, that look saying it all. She thought that she had bested him with the threat of keeping him locked up here, she thought she knew him. The Pharaoh turned his head to the side and smiled. If only she knew that she was doing exactly what he wanted her to do. He bet that smug smile would disappear quickly after that.


	32. Victorious Host

** Chapter Thirty-One: Victorious Host **

_"It's not an invasion: it's too late for that. It's a victory."  
-The Doctor_

Yugi held his breath for a moment after the TARDIS stopped rocking, standing up from the captain's chair to stare at the view screen. The TARDIS turned it on for him, much to his relief, Yugi looking at the room that they were in. It was filled with a strange collection of stuff, Yugi staring at it for a moment before assuming that it was all alien. He bit his lip, watching the people move around the room, realizing that there were far too many for him to spot. He ran a hand through his hair, flinching; his hair was going to work against him, it was too memorable.

He turned away from the view screen, taking a deep breath before mentally going through the list of things that he would need. The first thing he would have to get was the perception filter that was run through the collar, Yugi turning and running to his room to get it. If he was wearing that, he would look normal to all of these people, unless one of them had seen him before, then it wouldn't work. But he didn't know anyone who worked for a government organization. He secured the collar around his neck as he ran back to the console room, leaning over the view screen again.

All the people out there were in lab coats, Yugi stripping his own jacket from him before tossing it over the railing. He nodded to himself before glancing at the Pharaoh's coat that he had thrown over the back of the captain's chair. The Time Lord had left it with him for some reason, Yugi's eyes widening as he turned back to the screen, staring at the badges that all of the personnel wore. He lunged for the coat, digging through the pockets until he felt the leather wallet that held the psychic paper, smiling to himself before heading for the door. He paused just at the threshold, reaching up to stroke the TARDIS before slipping out.

Yugi glanced around, glad that no one had seen him stepping out of the time machine, quickly shutting the door behind him. He didn't want anyone to be able to get into the TARDIS while he was gone. They would probably try to take her apart, which would be torture to a sentient being. He reached back to give her one last pet before crouching and moving through the maze of artifacts, smiling as he saw a lab coat left carelessly on a table. He pulled it off the table and shrugged it on, the coat almost too long for him. Yugi breathed a sigh of relief before straightening up, adjusting the coat and sticking his hands in his pockets, hiding the psychic paper from sight. Now all he had to do was to figure out where to go.

The Pharaoh had left him with no plan, but something told Yugi that the Time Lord was intending Yugi to wander off this time; that the reason that the Pharaoh had given up the TARDIS without a fight. Or, at least he hoped it was the reason. Still, he had to look around this place to see if he could sense anything wrong; he was more willing to trust that the melody in his head was right when it came to such things. Yugi glanced around one last time before walking out of his hiding spot, trying to exude the confidence that came with working in a place for years.

The trouble was that he had no idea where anything was.

Yugi turned his head, hesitating for a split-second as he saw a blonde man moving through the crowd, Yugi staring at him for a moment before following at a good distance. The man looked like he knew where he was going, and he was heading away from this crowded area. Hopefully, there would be a sign that could lead Yugi to wherever he wanted to go. For a moment, Yugi hated the lack of a plan before he shook his head, this was the best he could do.

He followed the man through the twisting corridors, pausing a good distance back as he watched the man stand to wait for an elevator, memorizing the floor number before hopping into the next one and following him down. When he stepped out at the bottom, Yugi had thought that he had lost the man, relieved when he appeared as Yugi turned a corner.

His gaze was drawn away from his guide by the large metal door the man had stopped in front of. Yugi watched it slide open after the man pressed his identification badge against the reader, fiddling with the psychic paper in his pocket. There was always a chance that the reader wouldn't recognize the paper and sound an alarm, but that problem was easily solved by running. But something told him that he had to get into that room to see what was in there. Yugi bit his lip before shuffling forward, glancing up and down the hallway before opening the leather wallet, concentrating on the identification cards that he had seen the other people wearing and trying to transmit that onto the psychic paper.

Yugi kept his eyes shut for the few short seconds it took to read the faked badge, letting out the breath that he had held when the door slid open. Yugi fiddled with the leather wallet before slipping it into his pocket again, walking into the room. He had intended to give the room the usual look over, checking for threats and exits, but his attention was grabbed by the huge sphere at the end of the room, seeming to float above the platform. Yugi's mouth dropped open in shock as he stared at the thing, unable to take his eyes away. He didn't need the other senses that he was developing to tell him that this was wrong; he could see that for himself.

He jumped as someone put their hand on his shoulder, Yugi blushing and taking a step back, about to stumble out an apology when the man beat him to it. "Sorry, I should have known better. The Sphere affects everyone like that."

"Affects?"

"Oh no, nothing bad." The man laughed before sobering quickly, Yugi glancing at the Sphere again before looking away. "Now, who are you?"

"Huh?" Yugi found himself drawing his attention away from the Sphere again, blushing before fumbling for the psychic paper. "I'm just from the alien research center, I would have sent a secretary but they're all busy." He rolled his eyes, pretending to be annoyed. "But I heard that we would be getting a new addition and I'm wondering why it hasn't shown up."

The man looked at the psychic paper for a while before shaking his head. "Well he was here, you got that right. But what you got wrong is this." He shook the leather wallet. "This is just a blank piece of paper."

Yugi's mouth dropped open before he could stop it, hating that he had given the game away so quickly. The man just smiled and nodded. "We all have basic psychic training here, enough to keep aliens from influencing our thoughts too much and more than enough to outwit a psychic paper. But I will give you points for trying. Wayne!"

There was a pause, the man cursing and turning around to search the room. Yugi momentarily thought about making a break for it when the man reached out to grab his arm. He tried to pull away, rewarded with a harsh yank on his arm as a reprimand. Yugi winced, glancing back towards the steel doors, only to be hauled over to the desk as the man pressed on a button. "Initiating lockdown. Unauthorized personnel in the Vault. Damn it, Mai, where are you. Wayne!"

"Yeah?" The shout was muffled, Yugi glancing to the other side of the room where someone worked under a bank of computers. The man who was holding him muttered a curse.

"Damn it, Wayne, why didn't you answer the first time?"

"I was busy." Wayne slid out from under the computers. "You wanted these fixed up and I got them fixed. They still won't get anything though, that won't change. What did you want me for?"

"Watch him. I've got to try and contact Mai." Yugi was shoved towards Wayne, glared at the man before he was led to the side of the room. He leaned against the wall, glaring at the floor and angry that he had gotten caught. Wayne put a hand on his shoulder, Yugi about to brush the hand off when his guard spoke. "You alright there, buddy?"

He froze at the familiar accent, turning around to actually look at the person who was guarding him, having to quickly bite back a smile as the familiar mop of blonde hair. Yugi nodded at Joey, the blonde giving him a quick smile before moving to an appropriate distance, Yugi watching him go. He would figure out why Joey was here later, when he had a chance to talk with no one in the room. How Joey had gotten back to this world was a question that could be saved for when the Pharaoh was around. Yugi was just glad that he had an ally in all of this.

* * *

The Pharaoh strolled into the room, glancing absently at the glass enclosed office at one end, trying not to scoff. Instead, he focused on the line of six desks, three on each side, and the two levers in the room. He stared at the blank wall, at the other end, narrowing his eyes before walking closer. "There's something there."

"Ah, so you're as smart as they say." The Pharaoh ignored her, smiling to himself as he heard Mai huff. "It's a spatial disturbance, a black spot on the radar. We funded this building so we could get to this spot and rented rooms until the company allowed us to take over the whole building. Domino wasn't good for their business anyway."

"Where-"

"Oh my God! It's the Kaiba Corporation Tower!" The Pharaoh turned around to look at Junri, the woman standing at one of the windows beside the glass office, gaping down at the view of Domino City. The Time Lord glanced at Mai before walking over to Junri, gazing down at the city below him with a sinking heart. They had been here all this time and he hadn't even noticed.

"Yes, that's what the people think. But to those who know, it's Torchwood. An experimental base while Torchwood One gets back on its feet." Mai shrugged. "Who knows, Torchwood One might move to Japan since you seem to enjoy frequenting here, Pharaoh."

She winked at him before walking back to the center of the room, the Time Lord noticing the angry glances at two of the empty desks. But that didn't stop her, Mai turning slightly and gesturing towards the center of the blank wall. "We fire proton beams at that wall and the ghosts come through. It's a side effect but what we're really after is the energy."

The Pharaoh tilted his head to the side, ignoring Mai as she continued to elaborate. He could see what they were doing for himself, and he didn't like it. He reached into his pockets and pulled out his 3-D glasses, his hearts sinking as he saw that the wall was coated with the green and red particles, the center of it saturated to a point where he couldn't see the wall. He snarled and ripped the glasses off, glaring at Mai. "So, while you're doing that, you're ripping apart worlds."

Mai stopped in the middle of her speech, staring at him incredulously. "Excuse me?"

The Pharaoh nodded and gestured at the wall. "You find a weak spot and rip at it until it opens enough for you to get your precious energy. Do you know what you're doing to the world?"

"We're helping it." Even though her voice was strong, Mai's eyes were wide, a hint of fear in them.

He shook his head with a harsh laugh, fishing out his sonic screwdriver and pointing it at one of the glass panels of her office. He held his ground as Mai rocked forward, the woman moving back as she hovered, indecisive. The Pharaoh smirked, quickly switching the setting on the screwdriver as he spoke. "I'll show you what you're doing to this world."

He pressed the button on the sonic, the glass panel cracking, the cracks skittering over the surface of the panel before slowing, but the panel held. The Pharaoh smirked at Mai before strolling into her office, standing behind the cracked panel. "This is what you are doing to our world. Too much strain and it shatters." He touched the panel, watching the glass shatter and fall to the floor in pieces, staring at Mai the entire time. "Is that what you want to be remembered for?"

Mai hesitated for a moment before smiling, the Pharaoh noticing how strained the expression was. "I will be remembered for my contribution to science and to this institute. I was the one who captured the Pharaoh, the one who all of this was created for and I delivered a source of energy to the world."

"On your head so be it." Mai visibly flinched at that, the Pharaoh not moving from his place where the glass panel had once stood. He held her gaze until she looked away, taking the arrival of two employees as a distraction from him.

"Nashi! Jun! You were supposed to be back half and hour ago!"

"Sorry we're late." The two spoke nearly at the same time in an even tone, the Pharaoh staring at them for a moment before turning his attention back to Mai, watching the woman storm around the room.

"It doesn't matter, Ghost Shift in less than a minute, get it started. And someone get in here to clean up all of this glass!" Mai shouted the order out of the door before storming back in and pointing to him. "And you, you will just watch as see how wrong you are. We've done this at least a thousand times."

"Then stop at a thousand."

"No."

"Then be prepared to watch it all come falling down. Junri." He motioned for Yugi's mother to step closer to him, the woman glancing at Mai before complying, picking her way over the glass.

As he had hoped, the desertion of Junri took away some of Mai's confidence. She had been hoping that Junri would side with her, the one that she had known longer. Instead, she had chosen to stand with the alien who had stolen her son, the enemy. The Pharaoh just smirked, pulling out a chair for Junri to sit in before leaning over the back of it, noticing Junri's glare. She knew what he was doing and, while she didn't like being a part of his schemes, she was smart enough to remain silent. The Pharaoh glanced down at Junri, resting a hand on her shoulder only to have it shaken off. He wasn't sure how to interpret that move, so he just stared back at Mai, taking in the people working at their computers. And then he saw it.

It was just a little shift, Mai readjusting her balance, but her eyes were looking around the room; darting from him, to the computers and the glass on the floor. The quick glances were repeated many times, Mai obviously thinking quickly, probably trying to gather a way to save her reputation on this. He knew he had her when she tensed, the moment mere preparation for the turn. Then Mai's back was to them as she turned to look at the six working on the computers. "Stop!"

They hesitated for a moment before powering back down, Mai glaring at all of them before she spun to look at the Pharaoh. "It couldn't hurt to double check our measurements of the disturbance. So, until then, we have momentarily postponed the Ghost Shift. Don't count this as a victory."

The Time Lord just nodded, stepping aside to allow her into her office, staring at the people at the computers. He was momentarily distracted by the way their Bluetooth ear pieces seemed to be flashing quickly, about to walk over and examine them when he heard Mai give a short laugh. The Pharaoh turned to look at her, watching as she leaned back in her chair, glancing at Junri and him, before shaking her head. "Oh, this is interesting."

"What?" He walked over, freezing when he heard a voice coming from the computer, realizing that Mai was in contact with one of her scientists.

"It's true. Some kid is down here sneaking around the Sphere room."

"I'm not a kid!"

"Anyway, I've sealed the exits, so I need you to patch the code through."

Mai glanced up at him with a smile on her face before nodding. "Will do Rajesh. Just give me a moment." She looked up from her monitor, motioning the Pharaoh over with a crook of her finger. The Time Lord hesitated before stepping closer, Mai turning the laptop around. "Does he look familiar to you?"

The Pharaoh groaned. "Yugi…"

"I know, the one time you want me to wander off, I mess it up." Yugi laughed nervously before waving. "Hi, Mom."

Mai chuckled to herself, leaning her chin in her hand. "So you didn't kill him. Interesting. I wonder what his mother thinks about all of this. What do you think of all of this, Junri?"

Junri didn't answer, leaning forward in her seat. "Are you alright?"

"Of course I'm alright, Mom." Yugi gave her a smile before looking back at the Pharaoh. "So…now what?"

"Well," Mai drew out the word as she sat back in her seat, "you, Yugi Mutou, will either be returned to your home after signing a nondisclosure agreement, returned to your home after you are retconned or kept here with the alien. Your choice?"

The Pharaoh shot a glare at Yugi, wanting him to choose the first choice offered to him. That way, he could escape more easily on his own, find the TARDIS and pick him up again. But, by the look that Yugi had on his face, the Pharaoh could tell that he would go for the last choice. He sighed; grudgingly admiring his companion, few of them would stick with him through all of this. He saw Yugi give a slight nod, his companion biting his lip. To most people, that would show that they were thinking, but he knew Yugi better; Yugi was considering his answer, probably trying to think of their reactions to it. The Pharaoh leaned forward, sending reassurances down their bond only to be interrupted when Mai suddenly stood up. "I thought I said to postpone the Ghost Shift!"

He stood up straight, watching only long enough to see Yugi be pulled away from the camera before turning to look at the room. The six technicians were typing on their computers, charging up the proton beams. The Pharaoh followed Mai out into the room, catching sight of something that he hadn't seen when the two latecomers had entered; they had two Bluetooth attachments instead of one. He frowned and glanced at the others, cursing when he realized that he had missed all of them.

The Pharaoh pushed past Mai, heading for the woman's desk and resting a hand on her shoulder as he took on the sonic screwdriver. He heard Junri and Mai rushing at him, his arm yanked back by Mai. "What are you doing?"

"Breaking the signal that's controlling them." He turned back to the young woman, his frown softening for a moment. He hated having to do this, the Pharaoh taking a deep breath before turning on the sonic screwdriver, trying to steel himself for what would happen, and failing. He still winced when the young woman let out a scream, catching her as she slumped forward, gently setting her down against the desk. The Pharaoh turned around, seeing that the others behind the computers were also slumped over, one of them completely out of his chair. He turned at a sharp breath from Junri.

"You've killed them."

"They were already dead."

"Dead?" Mai shook her head, the Pharaoh readjusting his screwdriver to follow the signal that had been broadcast. He already had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that he knew who had set this up, but he wanted to be sure and he wanted to be ready. He tipped his head towards the screwdriver, listening to the faint beep that it made as it searched out the signal, glancing back at Mai as the woman tried to gather herself together. "But she can't be. I just talked to her. Nashi? Nashi, this isn't funny. And why do you have two of those things?"

The Pharaoh leaned forward to stop her. "Don't!"

Mai didn't listen, pulling out the Bluetooth only to have a string of brain matter follow it, Mai screaming and dropping the device. "It was in her brain!"

The Pharaoh nodded, turning in place as the sonic caught onto the signal, glancing toward the doors before running towards them. He had to figure out what was going on here and what was coming through. Then Mai could relay that code down to the Vault and he could collect Yugi. Some part of him was tempted to leave Yugi down there, to avoid the impeding danger that was looming closer with every second. Maybe he could keep his companion safe. Yugi safe and yelling at him was better than Yugi dead, infinitely better.

He rushed around a corner, barely listening to the sound of the two women running after him. He did glance up to see the plastic sheets that would usually denote renovation, but the signal was coming from in there. It was the perfect place to hide, humans just assuming what they wanted to about the place. The Pharaoh growled to himself, storming into the area, holding his screwdriver up as he scanned the area, tensing as he thought he saw something move. He sucked in a breath, holding it for a moment before turning in place, the beeping coming from the screwdriver coming faster and louder until he was staring at a single sheet of plastic.

A silhouette appeared, the Pharaoh having a moment to glance at it before it was ripped in two; the Time Lord stumbling backwards as the Cyberman stepped through. He turned to the side at the sound of more Cybermen moving, backing up and reaching for Junri. They wouldn't be able to run, but if they didn't struggle then they would be kept alive. They had been too late to stop the Ghost Shift from starting, and there were sure to be reinforcements. This was just the advance guard. And he could figure out how the even got here later.

He held up his hands in surrender, flinching as they were grabbed by the Cybermen, relieved when they were not shocked. The Pharaoh looked over at Junri, Yugi's mother shivering but remaining calm. It was Mai that struggled, the Pharaoh giving her a pointed look that made her stop. She glared at him but remained silent, except for the moments when she shouted orders to the staff, the Pharaoh watching as they reacted as they had been trained, trying to defend themselves only to be shot down, the Pharaoh sparing a moment to marvel at the new attachment that the Cybermen had given themselves before turning his attention back to the room ahead of him as they were marched through.

Two Cybermen went to pull the levers up, standing as guards as the ghostly shapes began to march through, the Pharaoh's eyes widening as he realized the sheer amount of numbers that were coming through in the room alone. He didn't even want to begin counting the amount that were on the streets below. The human race was defeated even before it had started to fight, the Cybermen that were coming through the breech become more solid as they moved further away. The Pharaoh looked over at Mai as she gasped, the blonde woman shaking her head. "But they were just ghosts. They couldn't hurt anyone."

"That was then, this is now. And they've just won themselves a planet." He turned to look at the leader of the group, glancing back at the breech before deciding to go for the most obvious question. "How did you build the Void Ship? You don't have the technology to do that."

The Cyberleader turned to look at him for a moment, probably debating his usefulness before speaking. "We did not build it. It came first."

"What?"

"It came through first and made the way, we only followed." The Pharaoh stared at the Cyberman, allowing himself to be pushed to the side as more came through, staring at the ranks of metal suits that came marching from the disturbance. So the Void ship had been the one to make the hole in this world, the hole in the other world must have still existed from when the TARDIS had fallen through before. The Pharaoh swallowed, his attention being caught by Junri as she reached out to grab his sleeve, the Cybermen ignoring the move.

"Pharaoh, if these things didn't build that thing down there, then what is it?"

"I…I…"

"You don't know." Junri finished up for him, the Pharaoh staring at her with wide eyes, helpless to do anything as the feeling of the impeding storm got stronger. He wanted to run and find Yugi, taking them to a place where they would be safe, away from the storm that was going to hit. The Pharaoh shivered, trying to control his urge to run, knowing that he would just be killed by the Cybermen if he did that, and he was needed here to help humanity. Yugi would be alright on his own, that's what he hoped for with every breath, staring at Junri. Yugi's mother just gave him a long look before clutching his sleeve tighter. "What's down there, Pharaoh?"

* * *

Yugi stared at the equipment, glancing up at Joey before returning his gaze to the readings that were suddenly coming to life on the computer screen in front of him. He glanced up at the Sphere, suddenly feeling its looming presence more keenly.

"Mai! Mai, the Sphere exists! It now has mass and heat and…Mai answer me damn it! The Ghost Shift should be done by now." Rajesh turned away from the webcam with a curse before glancing up at the Sphere, shaking his head. "She's not answering and we can't get out of here without the codes from her. What's going on up there?"

"Something bad." The words slipped out of his mouth before he knew what he was saying, Yugi tensing. He leaned against the table, trying to stop the images that were beginning to flash through his mind. He didn't want to know how he died; he didn't want to be watching for the signs for the rest of his life. Yugi swallowed nervously before forcing himself to ignore them, watching as Joey scooted closer. He glanced at his friend, Joey nodding slowly before sprinting to the other side of the room, sliding under the bank of controls that he had been working under early.

Rajesh rolled his eyes, leaning against the table. "Wayne now is not the time to be working on repairs. The Sphere is-"

"Whatever." Joey rolled out from under the table, holding a gun and staring resolutely at the Sphere. "Now is the perfect time to be running, but you locked us in here, so we'll have to make a stand against whatever is in there."

"Wayne?"

Joey glanced back over his shoulder, grinning. "It's not Wayne Grayson, it's Joey Wheeler." He looked back at the Sphere, raising the gun to aim it at the metal ball. "And I'm here to protect the Earth."

"Against what?"

"Well, that's where we run into the problem."

Yugi tipped his head to the side, his eyes widening. "You don't know?"

"Sorry, Yug', we didn't get enough time to see what this thing was before it barreled into this universe. We have theories." Joey rolled his shoulder, shifting the gun in his hands. "We think it could be the Emperor of the Cybermen or that sort of thing. Or what's left of Noa's Cyberman, we don't know. All we know is that we have to destroy it."

"Destroy!" Rajesh rushed forward, trying to make Joey lower his gun. "There are things to be learned from it."

"And it could kill us all before we get to learn anything. I don't know about you, Dr. Singh, but I want to live." Joey turned away, planting himself next to Yugi. "I'm guessing that the Pharaoh will be in the thick of it?"

"Probably." Yugi glanced at his friend, staring at him before glancing at the ground. "You know Mai is here, right?"

"Yeah. But she's not mine anymore. Besides, I've got a girl back home just waiting for me." Joey gave him a bright smile before adjusting his stance again. "Here it comes, be ready."

Yugi turned to look at the Sphere, watching as the metal began to slide back, the smooth surface revealing plates that pushed back to open the top. A bright light spilled out, Yugi squinting to see what was rising out of the Sphere, only getting a vague outline. He could count five shapes rising from the light, feeling Joey tense beside him, ready to shoot the things that were coming out. For a moment, Yugi was ready to tell him to give them a chance, but the words died on his tongue as the things spoke.

"Exterminate. EXTERMINATE!"


	33. Doomsday

** Chapter Thirty-Two: Doomsday **

_"You know, Stephen King said once, he said 'salvation and damnation are the same thing'. And I never knew what he meant. But I do now. 'Cos the Doctor might be wonderful but… thinking back, I was having such a special time. Just for a bit. I had this nice little gang and they were destroyed. It's not his fault. Maybe that's what happens when you touch the Doctor. Even for a second. I keep thinking about Rose and Jackie, and how much longer before they pay the price"  
-Elton_

Yugi stumbled backwards, Joey dropping his gun to the floor and following him. He stared at the Daleks, barely noting that one was black instead of the usual bronze, his mind working quickly to figure out what was going on, but all he could think of was that they were all going to die. These weren't insane Daleks, driven mad by their own existence or even the Dalek that he had tainted. These were the ruthless killers that the Pharaoh feared more than anything. Yugi swallowed, reaching back as he bumped up against the wall, staring at the eyestalk of the nearest Dalek, trying to ignore their incessant cries. It would only be a matter of time before they acted.

"Daleks!" He shouted before he knew what he was doing, watching as they came to a stop, Yugi staring at them before smiling, the beginnings of a plan coming to him. He took a step forward, trying his best not the shiver. "Now how would I know that? A human knowing about the Daleks, especially since you were all destroyed in the Time War. Oh, and then, how would I know about the Time War. None of its effects ever reached Earth." He raised an eyebrow before nodding. "Now tell me, Daleks, what does that make me?"

The Dalek with the black casing stared at him for a long moment before wiggling slightly. "Keep. This hu-man. A-live."

"Oh yeah, Time War." Joey laughed and rolled his eyes. "I could write a novel on that. What do you say Yugi?"

"Yeah, maybe two."

The Daleks glanced at each other before replying. "Do. All the. Hu-mans. Know. Of the. Ti-me War?"

"Of course." Yugi smiled, leaning forward a bit. "And how would we know that if we weren't important."

"Keep. Them a-live." If it was possible, the Dalek sounded reluctant, turning back to its fellows and circling the strange container that they had brought out of the Sphere with them. It was about the same height as the Daleks with the same bumps protruding from the sides in places, about the same height as the Daleks' plunger arm. The Daleks were rotating around it, fitting their plungers over the bumps, but Yugi could see nothing that would give him a clue of why they were doing that. He glanced over at the others, tensing when he heard the Dalek leader coming back over to them. "Which. Of you. Is least. Im-por-tant?"

Yugi stared at the Dalek, thinking that he had heard the creature wrong before shaking his head. "None of us."

"Des-ignate. The least. Im-por-tant!" The Dalek quivering in place; Yugi's gaze dropping down to the twitching plunger before swallowing. He had to be careful here, they could easily be killed quickly before the Pharaoh had the chance to get to them and they had nowhere to run because he had bungled his mission earlier.

He cleared his throat, ready to make some excuse with Rajesh stepped forward, looking at the both of them before nodding. "I guess that's down to me then."

"We will. Ac-quire. Know-ledge. Of this. Time." The Dalek jerked its eyestalk down. "Kneel."

Rajesh did as he was order, clearing his throat nervously. "I can only tell you so much, and my information might not be good. But I can't tell you anything that would compromise national security."

"We. Do not. Re-quire. You to. Talk." Yugi lunged forward as three Daleks converged on Rajesh, Joey pulling him back. He turned to look at his friend, struggling as Joey got a secure hold, closing his eyes as he heard Rajesh begin to scream, unable to force himself to look. He remembered too well the Dalek in Van Statten's museum crushing that one man's face with its plunger. Yugi shivered, opening his head at the heavy thud that Rajesh's body made as it hit the floor, reeling with nausea as he saw that Rajesh's face had not only been crushed, but also blacked slightly by the forced information withdraw.

"The hu-man. Has know-ledge. Of an-other. Intru-der on. This planet. Thay."

"I. Obey." Yugi stared at the bronze Dalek that moved out into the hall. He had no idea what Thay meant, the TARDIS hadn't translated it in his mind. Which meant that it had to be a name of some sort, the TARDIS didn't translate names. But the Daleks weren't like that, they were all the same, nothing to make them an individual, because then that would make them like the rest of the universe. It would make them something to be exterminated.

"Hey, what's that thing?" He jumped at Joey spoke, shaking his head at his friend to try and keep Joey quiet. The blonde just shrugged at him, both of them tensing as the leader of the group came to a stop.

"Time. Lord. Sci-ence."

Yugi blinked in confusion, allowing Joey to pull him away to the wall, staring at the thing as Joey lowered his voice to whisper, "Give me a hint here, Yug'?"

"I-I don't know. It doesn't look like anything that I recognize, but there's tons of stuff out there, Joey."

"Yeah, I know. I just didn't want to be flying blind here."

Yugi gave his friend an apologetic smile, staring at the object and tapping his fingers on his arm, trying to figure out what it was. The only thing that came to his mind was that it looked like a Dalek, something that it was obviously not. He huffed in annoyance before he turned to look back at Joey, fidgeting slightly as something came to mind. "Joey, why are we still alive?"

The blonde looked at him incredulously. "Yug', that's not the question to be asking."

"I know. But think about it. The Daleks will kill anything different, but they didn't kill us. Which means that they still need us for something." Yugi looked up at Joey before staring at the floor, dredging up his memories of encounters with other Daleks, his eyes widening as he came to a conclusion. In Van Statten's museum, he had reached out to touch the Dalek, which had brought it back to life. It wasn't too far of a jump to believe that a touch to the structure that the Daleks were guarding would work in the same way. So they needed the DNA of a time traveler, something that he and Joey both were. They would be alive as long as the Daleks thought that they were willing to help.

Yugi glanced back up at the Daleks, staring at the thing that they were swarming around, staring at it in the hopes that he would suddenly recognize it from somewhere. He bit his lip, lowering his gaze to the floor when he decided that it was fruitless, he didn't know what the Daleks were guarding. Yugi shifted in place for a moment before turning to Joey, hoping that his friend would be able to hack into the system and get them out of here before the Daleks tried to force them to open the structure, something that Yugi would refuse to do. And then he would be dead.

His heart pounded in double time at the thought, checking on the fragment in his head before forcing himself to focus. He had to get Joey and himself out of this situation, with the Pharaoh too far away and unable to be reached. Yugi chewed on his lip for a moment, glancing up at Joey, ready to sketch out a flimsy plan when something crackled, the two of them turning to look at the three remaining Daleks as they turned away from the structure. "Esta-blish. Audi-tory. Link."

The crackling increased until it settled down, Yugi hearing the faint sound of the Dalek moving, catching Joey moving up beside him before he jumped. "Identi-fy."

There was a moment of silence before the other creature in the hall spoke, Yugi's mouth dropping open in shock. He remembered that Joey had mentioned the Cybermen, but he hadn't really processed the idea. But his stomach dropped as he heard the solemn, even voice of a Cyberman. "You identify first."

"Identi-fy. First."

"You have been ordered to indenify first."

"Da-leks. Do not. Fol-low. The or-ders. Of. In-fer-iors."

"You have indentified as Dalek."

Yugi glanced at the leader of the Daleks in the room, watching as it wiggled, clicking noises issuing from it before it spoke. "Voice. Pat-tern. Re-sembles. In-fer-ior. Species. Known as. Cy-bermen."

Joey tensed by his side, Yugi waving a hand at him to remind him to stay back. He couldn't reach for his gun or he would be dead. And then they would just force him to touch the structure and then kill him. And the Pharaoh would never know what had happened to them. Yugi's eyes widened, his hand twitching by his side. The Pharaoh would just feel him die and the Time Lord would rush down to see what had happened to him. Then, he would be exterminated by the Daleks. For the Pharaoh's sake, he had to keep Joey calm until they could get out.

"Our programming is compatible. We could upgrade-"

"Da-leks. Do not. Up-grade."

"Then you are rogue elements. You will be deleted. Delete. Delete." Yugi flinched away at the sounds of shots, holding his breath. Between the two, he would rather have the Cybermen come to find him, that way he could escape before he was processed instead of getting killed immediately by the Daleks. His breath whooshed out as he heard the distinct sound of a Dalek laser firing, Yugi reaching back for something to lean on. He was stuck down here with the Daleks, stuck down here until they decided that they didn't need him any longer.

"Cyber. Threat. Anni-hilated." Yugi heard Thay's voice over the audio link, jumping as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He sighed with relief, glad that he had the phone on vibrate instead of his ring tone before fishing it out, sparing a glance at the screen to see who was calling. He frowned as he stared at the caller ID, glancing up at Joey before just answering the call, not daring to bring it up to his ear and talk, sure that the Daleks would hear it.

"Visual. Feed. Ini-tiated. It. Is the. Cyber-men." The Daleks turned at the call of their leader, a view screen flickering to life behind the desk. Yugi swallowed and raised his eyes to look at it, reaching back to hold Joey back as the blonde lunged forward; his other hand still holding the cell phone. He stared up at the screen, hoping that the Pharaoh and his mother were still together; he was her best chance of getting out of this alive.

"You have initiated war with the Cybermen. Upgrade or prepared to be deleted."

"Da-leks. Do not. Up-grade." The leader of the Daleks repeated the statement. "You. Will be. Ex-terminated."

If the Cyberman could should emotions, Yugi would have thought that the metal man would have been taken aback. Instead, it stared resolutely ahead. "How many are you?"

"Four."

"You would defeat the Cybermen with four Daleks?"

"We. Would. De-feat. The. Cyber-men. With. One. Da-lek. You. Are. Sup-erior. To. Us. In. One. Respect." The Cyberman didn't answer back, continuing to stare. "You. Are. Better. At Dy-ing."

The connection snapped off quickly, the Daleks looking at themselves before their leader jerked its eyestalk back to the screen. "Re-wind. Nine. Rels." The recording moved back rapidly, Yugi staring at the screen as he watched the Cyberman, his gaze drifting to the background as he saw something move, his heart pounding faster as he saw the Pharaoh appear on screen for a brief moment, a cell phone held against his ear. "Halt."

"The. Hu-man's. Heart. Rate. Has. Accel-erated." The leader of the Daleks turned around to stare at him, Yugi quickly hanging up his phone and stuffing it back in his pocket. The Pharaoh had probably heard enough by now to make a plan, or Yugi hoped that it was enough. He swallowed as the Daleks moved around their structure, backing him and Joey into the wall. "You. Will. Re-veal. The. Iden-tity. Of. This. Man."

"Alright." Yugi swallowed, glancing back at Joey before nodding to himself. "That's the Pharaoh."

The Daleks recoiled instantly, Yugi watching the movement with a smile on his face. It seemed that the Pharaoh's name still had some influence with the Daleks, which meant that they would be safe for a while longer. He dared to take a step forward, watching as the Daleks skittered back even further. "Cybermen are no problem, aren't they? But the Pharaoh? Well, now you're scared."

He smirked as the Daleks remained silent, the three bronze ones looking to their leader, the black Dalek staring at Yugi for a moment more before turning away, trundling back towards the structure. "Focus. On. The. Gene-sis. Arc."

They all turned away, going back to the Genesis Arc and working around it, Yugi relaxing at that. They had bought themselves more time. The Daleks would make sure that everything would be ready to combat the Pharaoh, something that they hadn't originally figured into their plans. He rested a hand over his quickly beating heart, forcing himself to calm down before he activated the fragment in his head. He didn't want the Daleks knowing that he had it, unsure of what they would do.

"What now, Yug'?" Yugi turned partially to look at Joey, swallowing nervously as he kept one eye on the Daleks.

"Now…now we wait."

"For what?"

Yugi could only shrug.

* * *

Junri stared at the phone that the Pharaoh handed back to her, not sure what to do. She was glad that Yugi was alive, elated that her son was still safe. But that was quickly giving way to fear. She had heard all of the stories that Yugi told about his adventures, including the Daleks and they were the only ones that he had seemed to be afraid of. All the others he had blown off as something less than important, but the Daleks he had looked really scared. If Yugi hadn't botherd to hide how scared he was, it was something big.

She rubbed her thumb over the screen of the phone before slipping it back into her pocket, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. She could either panic and obstruct whatever plan that the Pharaoh had, or she could stay calm and keep close to the Pharaoh. The Time Lord had to have some plan. Junri glanced up at the Time Lord, her stomach turning as she saw that the Pharaoh seemed to be lost. She reached out to touch his sleeve, only to have the Time Lord jerk away.

The Pharaoh stepped backward, leaning against the wall and taking a deep breath, Junri stared at him before looking over at Mai, finding that the blonde woman was leaning on her desk, staring at the Cyberman and shaking her head, shooting glares at the Pharaoh. Junri tensed at the look that Mai was giving the alien, edging around the room to get closer to the desk, pausing suddenly as the Cyberman turned to speak to Mai. "I will speak to your world's central authority."

"Look it up, we don't have a central authority." Mai snapped at the Cyberman, seeming to remember her place a moment later. She ducked her head, Junri noticing the flinch that the woman gave as the Cyberman looked her way, their attention diverting soon afterward.

"Then we will speak on all channels." The Cyberman turned toward the window, its fist rising to rest against the emblem on its chest, speaking slowly. "We are speaking on all channels. The humans of Earth will be upgraded. The Cybermen will remove pain. They will remove race, color, sex and creed. We will eliminate pain and difference."

The Cyberman paused, Junri glancing at Mai before scooting completely over to the desk, leaning against it. Mai looked her before returning her gaze to the Cyberman, the metal man shifting in place before turning to look at her. "They continue to resist. Reports concur on this, reports of fighting. Order them to spot."

"She has no authority." The Pharaoh moved from his place on the wall, glaring up at the Cyberman. "You're threatening everything they own, their own lives. Of course they're going to fight!"

"This creature doesn't speak for us." Mai shot back, coming around her desk to point at the Pharaoh before turning to look at the Cyberman. "And this is our world. You may be standing here, but we will resist you until our last breath!"

The Cyberman stared at her for a moment before turning to look at the other in the room behind him. "Take them to be upgraded, but leave the male. He was information we can use."

The Pharaoh lunged forward, reaching for Junri only to have a Cyberman restrain him. Junri screamed and tried to dodge around the Cybermen, only to have her shoulder grabbed. She flinched, finding herself being dragged along, glancing to one side to see Mai being pulled away as well. Junri turned to look at the Pharaoh, staring at him as he reached for her, stretching out her own arm only to have their fingertips brush. Junri whimpered, trying to reach further. "Don't let them get me."

"Junri, I promise you'll be safe. I promise that Yugi will be safe. I promise that I'll get you out of this!" She sobbed and nodded, reaching up to wipe the tears from her eyes, watching the Time Lord get shoved back against the wall, the Cybermen ignoring him after that. She took a deep breath and forced herself to look forward, shaking the Cyberman's hand off her shoulder and walking forward on her own with her head held high.

She glanced at Mai out of the corner of her eye, watching as the blonde woman continued to struggle. Junri took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment, opening them quickly when she heard Mai give a long sigh. Junri turned to look at the blonde, Mai glaring at her. "And you're just going to take his word for that? I never took you to be an idiot, Junri Mutou."

Junri bristled at that, forcing herself not to rise to the other woman's bait. "I'm no idiot, Mai. And I trust him."

"Why?" Mai shook her head, trying to move forward as the Cybermen pushed her along. "He's an alien. He stole your son!"

"Yugi went with him of his own will. And that's still no excuse for you to leave Joey like that." Junri glared at her, watching as Mai shrunk back before staring at the floor.

"I still don't trust him."

"You might as well because he's the only one that can get us out of this." She was going to make another comment when they turned the corner, Junri staring at the line of people that were waiting to be processed by the Cybermen, her mouth dropping open in shock. It looked like the entire staff of the tower was being ushered through the line, Junri shivering as she realized that she was close to the front of the line, turning her head to look back. She only had a moment to look before she was forced to stare forward again.

She watched as a newly made Cyberman marched out of the plastic sheets, the next person being shoved in, Junri watching them struggle. The line shuffled forward, Junri glancing at the two people that waited ahead of her, Mai one of them. She considered asking the blonde woman if she had an escape plan but the idea was forgotten as she heard the screaming start, her head jerking up to look towards the plastic sheets. There were flashes of light, throwing a writhing silhouette on the sheets, Junri's mouth falling open at the sight of the equipment and the person there.

"They remove the brain and wire it into the suit." Mai's calm voice brought her back to the present, Junri staring at her as the woman shrugged. "That's what it looks like from here."

"You did this."

"No. The Pharaoh did this. He's always bringing aliens to Earth." The line moved forward, the person in front of Mai being pushed through the sheets. Mai gasped and tried to lean back, the Cyberman holding her keeping her in place. Junri jumped as a hand landed on her shoulder, staring up at the Cyberman behind her before looking forward.

She blanked, in the moments before her death she could think of nothing. The need to keep alive rushed through her, Junri's mind turning that one thought over steadily. There was no thought spared for Mai or even Yugi, the need to save herself the priority. The deep fear lasted a moment before resignation settled in, Junri immediately feeling ashamed for not even thinking about Yugi during that moment. Her son was stuck in the Vault with Daleks and she was about to become a robot. It was enough to make her laugh, or to make her cry.

"Junri, how could you trust him?"

"You did this." Mai stopped her tirade, staring at Junri. Yugi's mother recovered herself, standing up straight, glaring at Mai. "You and your Torchwood. You've killed us all."

"No! We're protecting the Earth."

"You destroyed that ship. You cut off the Pharaoh's warning. You've destroyed us all." Junri glared at her, watching as Mai tried to come up with a response, the blonde just staring open-mouthed at her. She tried to keep her gaze level, having difficulty with that as Mai began to get dragged away, knowing that she was standing there and letting a young woman go to her death.

"I did it for all of us! I did it for you! I would never betray any of you!" Mai struggled in the hold of the Cyberman, screaming back at Junri before she was tugged through the plastic sheets. Junri took a shuddering breath before turning her gaze aside, flinching as she heard Mai begin to scream.

She had just sent an innocent woman to her death and done nothing about it. She could have thought of escape plans, or done something to make sure Mai had gotten out. Junri was forty years old, while not as old as she wanted to be when she died; she was old enough that sacrificing herself for Mai wouldn't have been a complete loss. Instead, she had taunted the woman, trying to make her see the error of her ways when it was too late to go back. Mai had completely destroyed her old life and Joey had moved on; even going as far to go to a different universe to get away from her. Perhaps it was for the best.

Junri tensed as the Cybermen around her came to attention, flinching as they turned to look at each others, the other Cybermen stepping back. The others were still close to their charges, but the Cyberman closest to Junri moved to the one guard in front of the plastic sheets, they two of them conferring. Junri blinked, glancing back at the other cowering workers before edging closer to the plastic sheets. The two Cybermen wouldn't pay attention to her at the moment and she would be able to hide behind the two to keep from the others' line of sight. From there, she could run and plan later.

She glanced back at the other humans, a pang of guilt passing through her at the thought that they wouldn't escape, but they would have to wait for their own chance. This chance was too good for her to pass up. Junri took a deep breath and began to move away, partially listening to the conversation as she moved towards the door that let to the stairs.

"The Cyberleader has been eliminated, chain of command much be established."

"Information download requested. This unit will take over those duties."

The Cyberman on guard reached out and placed its fist on the other's emblem. Junri stared at the two of them for a moment before slipping through the door. She carefully shut it behind her, leaning on the wood for a moment before looking around, a faint smile crossing her face. She had escaped, that was something at least. Now she needed a way out, either to the Pharaoh or out into the street. Junri flinched at the thought of the Cybermen outside; inside would be better. She would be safer with the Pharaoh, and the two of them could find and free Yugi.

Junri took a deep breath before beginning to rush down the stairs. First, she would get a safe distance away from those things, maybe down around the Vault, and she would find a place to hide. When she was sure of what was going on, she would find the Pharaoh. She had to stay as safe as she could until the Pharaoh could be found.

* * *

The Pharaoh leaned against the window, staring at the streets below the Kaiba Corporation Tower. Through the breaks in the smoke billowing from fires and cars, he could see glint of metal and people, the Time Lord sighing and resting his forehead against the cool glass. Cybermen in the streets and Daleks in the tower, and he had no idea how to tackle this problem.

He could concentrate on the Daleks first, figure out a way to destroy them before they killed Yugi, before they got out and exterminated the humans. But that meant he had to come up with a plan to destroy four Daleks, something that he didn't have the weapons for. There was always the Time Vortex, but that would be a last resort; it would always be the last resort.

And all of that would be if he could even get out from under the eye of the Cybermen.

The Time Lord ran a hand through his hair, taking a shuddering breath. He didn't even know how to begin to win against them. They were all over the world, their slow invasion of Earth a complete success because the humans had just allowed them in everywhere. And now that they were here, there was no getting rid of them. He was stuck up here while the rest of the people in the tower were being converted. It was only a matter of time before they finished and moved on to the rest of Domino. The Pharaoh winced, letting his hand fall to rest on the window, staring at his fingers as they rested on the glass.

He was stuck and he couldn't do anything. His fingers slid over the glass, the Pharaoh wincing and curling towards the window. He hated feeling like this, completely useless; it reminded him too much of Krop Tor.

"You are proof." He lifted his head slightly from the glass, turning so he could see the Cyberman out of the corner of his eye. The Pharaoh briefly noted the black coverings on the headpiece of the Cyberman, probably denoting a leader in the absence of Noa. He stared at the Cyberman for a moment, tempted to just turn back to the window and continue to sit in silence, but that would do nothing to help.

The Pharaoh heaved a sigh and turned from the window, staring up at the metal suit. "Of what?"

"That emotions destroy you."

He gave a harsh laugh, shaking his head. "If only you knew."

"It is why we will upgrade humanity. Remove emotions." The Pharaoh found himself nodding along, turning to stare out of the window. The Cyberman could think what it liked about him and the rest of humanity; he just wanted to be left alone for a while. It was only a matter of time before they came and demanded that he worked with them to help upgrade the rest of humanity, the Pharaoh shaking his head and staring out the window.

"You will be upgraded with the last of this world."

"Fantastic." The Pharaoh shot a glare at the Cyberman, knowing that the metal man wouldn't understand sarcasm, that thought making the Pharaoh want to push the Cyberman away. He stood up, watching the Cyberman take a step back at the motion. It was some consolation to him, that he was still something to be feared, still like some god to the lesser species; that thought souring quickly. The lonely god. That's what he was. The Pharaoh slumped, staring at the ground. "Just do it."

"You are needed. You have information on this world. Your upgrade is scheduled for-" The Cyberman screamed, the Pharaoh thrown to the floor by the explosion as the Cyberleader fell. He grunted as he hit the floor, knocking his head against the wall, the Time Lord wincing and shutting his eyes. He only opened them when he heard the suit fall down to the ground.

"Well hello there." The Pharaoh started up at the familiar voice, staring up at Mai. His first instinct was to demand what she was doing here and where she had left Junri until he noticed her outfit. The Mai who ran this place had been in a jacket, skirt and high heels. This Mai was in jeans and a tight purple t-shirt, black boots tapping against the floor as she walked forward and offered a hand to the Pharaoh. "I seem to have lost my boy. Have you seen him? Blonde, about this tall, pretty brown eyes, acts like a puppy."

He allowed her to pull him back up, straightening his shirt before glaring at her. "What are you doing here?"

"I think I just saved your life. Is this anyway to treat me?" Mai pretended to pout for a moment before giving him a smile and walking out of the office, the Pharaoh's eyes widening as he saw the people that had followed her, all of them in black pants and jackets. He balked at the sight for a moment, Mai grabbing his hand and pulling him forward. "Well, you'd better be happy, we were tracking those Cybermen."

"You were supposed to keep them over there."

Mai just shrugged, turning to stare at the rest of her team, all of them suddenly looking away from her or fiddling with their guns. She glanced back at him and smirked, rolling her eyes. "Alright guys, spread out. Try and save as many of the staff as possible and hold this room. Whatever you do, hold this room. I'll be taking the Pharaoh back to the boss."

"Taking me…" The Pharaoh stared at her, Mai rolling her eyes and pulling on the chain around her neck, bringing the yellow button that hung on her back around to the front.

"I tried to get them to choose a better color, but I was outvoted. That's what I get for working with men." She gave a put upon sigh before pulling out another button from her pocket and looping it around his neck. "Hold on, it's going to be a bumpy ride."

The Pharaoh's eyes widened as she pressed the button, feeling his stomach twist slightly, his hearts pounding faster as he realized what was happening. "No don't!"

The world seemed to tumble for a moment before it came to a stop, the Pharaoh swaying on his feet before he looked around. His eyes took a short moment to adjust to the dim light, the Pharaoh looking quickly around before freezing. They were back in the Kaiba Corporation Tower, back in Torchwood. He looked around for Cybermen, checking himself when he noticed the difference between the two places. One, this room was a mess; wires hanging lose all over the place and computers torn to pieces. Two, it felt wrong, the Pharaoh's time sense telling him something completely different as it adjusted, a sure sign that this was a parallel world.

"Who have you brought with you this time?" The Pharaoh turned around quickly at the familiar voice, staring at the black haired man as he strolled from the walled office, leaning against the door and nodding at him. "Hey there, Pharaoh."

"Daniel Greene. Looking good."

"I would say the same but," Daniel shook his head, "I know what's going on there. You must be going out of your mind."

"Really?"

"Yes." The word was drawn out, Daniel pushing himself away from the door and walking over. "I suppose it would be too late to welcome you to Torchwood, our Torchwood."

"I suppose I'm a prisoner here too."

"Prisoner? Don't insult me. You're our guest here and…we need you."

"Need me?" The Pharaoh laughed, strolling into the office and looking down over Domino City. "Last time you were all too ready to get rid of me."

"That was before…" The Time Lord tipped his head at the pause, watching as Daniel sighed, walking up beside him to lean on the window frame. Daniel glanced up, jerking his head towards the city. "They're calling it a Golden Age down there. Torchwood was planning something that nearly overthrew the government. One of our recruits took control and saved us all," Daniel winced at a memory, "two man stand against the threat; he lived and the other man. Well…he died, but he died fighting. But the survivor, he was rewarded."

"Who?"

"Ryou Bakura."

"Bakura?"

"Formerly Nakamura. But he changed his name so the man who stood with him until the end would be remembered." The Pharaoh stiffened as Daniel laughed, staring out at the city. So here Ryou had lived up to his full potential instead of being cut off. The Time Lord pressed his hand against the glass with a long sigh, looking over at Daniel. "I bet you're wondering about your little problem. Well, simply put, we controlled the Cybermen for a while, but then people began questioning their rights and so on."

"They aren't human."

"I know and my staff knows, but the public wanted a way to get their loved ones back. Hell, if there had been a way to get Junri back then I would have fallen for it was well." The Pharaoh's fingers slid down the glass, his eyes widening, missing the sheepish look on Daniel's face. "But they were enough to stop us from destroying them completely. And they managed to get into Torchwood, convince the director and sneak into the parallel world. We went to stop them, but found out about that plan. Hence, the Preachers became Torchwood."

"And you've done well for yourself?"

"Solomon still runs his game shop, still has that Kaiba Corp. business deal. But we're producing toys with the alien technology that we find, as long as it's safe. And we only sell to Solomon, just because it's easier to have a recall and he understands. He's too old for this kind of thing."

"And you?"

"New director of Torchwood, appointed by Ryou Bakura himself." The pride in Daniel's stance disappeared almost immediately, the man leaning against the wall. "But that's not going to last too long. The world here is failing; temperatures rising, crops failing, droughts, you name it, we've had it."

"It's because of the breech."

"Which is why we called you?" The Pharaoh turned at that, watching as Daniel went to stand by Mai, picking up his own button on the desk. "These things are useful, but they make the rip wider, we checked when Joey went through. We're only using them now because we're desperate for help, and you're the only you."

The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow. "You looked?"

"We did. But you don't seem to exist here."

"Time Lord. Only one Gallifrey, only one of me." The Pharaoh shrugged, walking out of the office and into the main space, examining it carefully.

"Well, we still looked away, but for nothing. We need your help."

"With what?"

"Get rid of the Cybermen, close the breech."

The Pharaoh glared at him. "And trap them on my world?"

"Listen, my job is to keep this world safe. Anything else is your problem." Daniel sighed and glanced at Mai. "We'll give you enough help to keep them occupied, but after that I'm pulling my people."

The Pharaoh stared at him before looking at the wall where the breech was, taking the deep breath before shaking his head, ignoring their surprised looks as he began to pace, running a hand through his hair. He already had an idea of what to do, reaching into his pocket to finger his 3-D glasses. There was a way to close both breeches, and he knew it. It was just a matter of preparing and hoping that he could get the Vault open. The Daleks would be no use to him locked up. He tapped the glasses for a moment before nodding slowly. "I'll do it, but you're coming back with me. There's someone you'll want to see."

Daniel stared at him before tipping his head to the side; the expression on his face so much like Yugi's that he took a quick breath. He prayed to the forgotten gods of Gallifrey that Yugi was still alive and that he wasn't too late. He spared a moment for that before forcing himself not to think about his companion, it would just make this all the harder in the end.

He took a shaky breath before walking over to Mai, feeling the button that he had on banging against his chest with every stride, a reminder of what he would have to do. But it was for the best, he had to just keep telling himself that. The Pharaoh took another deep breath before nodding to Mai, the woman pressing the button and transporting them all back to the other Torchwood, the Pharaoh staring at the floor during the entire journey.


	34. Storm Breaking

** Chapter Thirty-Three: Storm Breaking **

_"I made my choice a long time ago and I'm never gonna leave you."  
-Rose Tyler_

As soon as they landed, he bolted; running for the phone in Mai's office before snatching it up and dialing a number, his fingers tapping on the table as he waited for the call to go through. The Pharaoh stood upright, turning to look at Daniel as the phone was picked up, confused about the sound that was coming from the other end. "Junri?"

"Oh, thank God, it's you."

"It's me." He smiled. "Now listen, where are you?"

"Staircase."

"Yeah. Where? I need landmarks, Junri!"

"There's a fire extinguisher!"

"Not helping."

"I'm running down a flight of stairs! Give me a moment!" The Pharaoh blinked before going back to leaning against the desk, tapping his fingers against the surface as he waited for Jurni to respond again. "I'm in the north staircase."

"Good, get down to the Vault level and we'll meet you there."

"Is it safe?"

"No, but we're getting Yugi out."

"Well, where's a safe place?"

"Can you get up to the top of the tower?"

"I'm not running up all those stairs again."

The Pharaoh rolled his eyes, reaching up to rub his forehead. "We'll see you down there then."

"I'll be waiting." The line went dead, the Pharaoh shaking his head before hanging the phone back up and looking at the team that was still in the room. He sighed and pointed at the few that he wanted.

"Mai, I need you to go and secure an elevator. Daniel, stick by me no matter what. You three, be ready to do as I order, no matter what I order." The ones he had chosen scattered, the Pharaoh watching them before motioning to Daniel and ducking back into the office. He began to rummage through the drawers, finding a sheet of paper and slapping it onto the desk, standing up a moment later to rip the button from his head and stuff it in the pocket of his jacket, pausing long enough to give it a quick stroke before snatching up the paper and turning to look at Daniel. "No matter what I do, just go with it."

"What are you planning?"

"The Cybermen aren't alone here, there's something more dangerous in here that we need to get distracted first. Then I can work." He paused for a moment, looking at the man. "And you'll have the chance to get Junri back."

"Junri is dead. And I was divorcing her."

"But you said yourself that you would do anything to get her back." The Pharaoh smirked as Daniel turned away to glare at a wall, the Time Lord knowing that he had struck a cord. "And you did love her, even then. Besides, you'll get the woman you first fell in love with and the son you always wanted."

"You have no right to move them around like pawns, Pharaoh."

The Time Lord paused, his hand resting on the door. He stared at the wood, tracing the grains with his fingers and watching the swirl of time, watching the tree grow from a seed until it was installed here as a door, using the moment as a way to stall. "I'm offering them the chance at a life that they should have had. I'm done playing God."

He shoved the doors open and walked out, not bothering to look and see if Daniel was even following him. He had to work quickly just to try and beat out the Daleks. The Vault would be easy to get into and the Cybermen would be easy to talk into his plan; he was their advisor after all. And they wanted to be rid of the Daleks as much as he did. Maybe if he played his cards right they would destroy each other and all he would have to do is lay low. The TARDIS was locked safely in the Torchwood labs; he could sense her worry now. There was no doubt that she had read his mind, that she knew what he was about to do. Even now she was trying to talk him out of it. But it was the only way.

The Pharaoh strode down the hallway, glancing down an intersection and stopping as he saw a pair of Cybermen standing there. He hesitated before raising his arms in surrender, showing the sheet of paper. "I would have brought a flag."

"No need. We recognize this surrender."

The Pharaoh nodded, letting the paper drop to the floor but keeping his hands up. "Then you'll be willing to listen to me."

It wasn't a question that he was asking and the Cybermen knew it, both of them staring at him before speaking. "We would be willing. You are the one with the knowledge of this world and the inferior Daleks."

"Good." The Pharaoh dropped his hands, smiling broadly. "Then let me advise you on a good idea."

* * *

It felt like hours since Yugi had last heard from the Pharaoh, his feet sore from standing up. He would have sat down if he trusted the Daleks, something that he didn't dare to do. Yugi stretched out his back, glancing over at Joey to find his friend fiddling with a button, Joey giving Yugi an apologetic smile. "Would have told you earlier, but it only takes one. And I'm not leaving you here."

"What does it do?" Yugi glanced over at the Daleks before shifting slightly, Joey getting the hint and moving to hide the button from sight.

"It's how I got here, allows me to hop through dimensions. But I've only used it once; I was the test for it. Daniel thought it was too dangerous to try multiple hops." Yugi's eyes widened at the name of his father, forcing himself to calm down.

"Others will come, right?"

"Yeah, they know to come when the Cybermen disappeared. They're already here now, probably, but they have to fight their way down. And Daniel is very particular about keeping that world safe."

"But you could have escaped."

"I said I wasn't going to leave you." Joey pocketed the device, staring at him. "Yugi, you can't do all of this on your own."

"No, I know that." Yugi turned to look at the Daleks, the creatures backing away from the Genesis Arc, looking like they were finished with their calibrations. He took a deep breath and stepped in front of Joey, his heart pounding faster as the Daleks trundled over. "But I might have to now."

"You. Will. Place. Your. Hand. On the. Arc."

Yugi glared at them before walking away from Joey, purposefully slipping through the blonde's grasp and standing by the Genesis Arc, staring at it in the hopes that something would be familiar, but nothing came to mind. He sighed, deciding to go with plan B, hoping that the Daleks would allow him to stall for a moment. "Don't you want to know about the Emperor?"

The Daleks paused at that, all of them staring at him. "The. Em-peror. Sur-vived?"

Yugi nodded, gently prodding at the fragment of the vortex in his head. He wanted this to work. If he could keep the Daleks in shock and use the fragment to blow the locks on the door, then he would be able to escape. He waited until the fragment was just about to rise from its dormant state before responding, taking a deep breath. "Well, before he met me." Yugi smirked letting the fragment activate as he spoke, his vision coated with gold for a moment. "I poured the Time Vortex into his head, and destroyed him."

"You. Are the. Abom-ina-tion! Exterminate! EXTERMINATE!"

The painful burning sensation rushed through his veins, Yugi taking a deep breath to try and calm the sensation down, only to fail. He flinched, swaying on his feet. His head pounded, Yugi wincing and raising a hand to rest against his forehead, barely hearing Joey shouting for him. He looked back up at the Daleks, panting for breath and trying to keep control of the fragment. So far, he was only bleeding out a small amount of power, and it still burned. Even worse was the fact that it was fighting him, closer to slipping out of his control with every second. Yugi forced himself to stand up, glaring at the Daleks. "I am the Dark Game. I-"

He swayed on his feet, the fragment suddenly snapping out of his control. Reacting on instinct, Yugi struggled to force the fragment back to dormancy, shouting in pain as it flared briefly before listening to him; Yugi sinking to his knees on the floor. His limbs trembled, barely holding him up as he panted for breath. He looked up through his bangs at the Daleks, all of them looking down at him. Yugi winced and looked away, hating himself for being so week.

"You. Are. An. Ene-my. Of the. Da-leks. You. Will. Be. Destroyed."

"Daleks!" Yugi looked up at the authoritative voice, a weak smile crossing his face as he watched the Pharaoh storm into the room, the door sliding shut behind him. The Daleks backed away from the enraged Time Lord, the Pharaoh glaring at them before kneeling down beside Yugi, resting a hand on his back. "Are you alright?"

"Give me…a moment…"

"Alert. Alert! It. Is. The Pha-raoh!"

The Time Lord glared at them before wrapping his arms around Yugi, the human allowing the Time Lord to help him to his feet. He clung to the Pharaoh, blushing at the position that he had put himself into, watching as the Pharaoh turned slightly, putting himself between the Daleks and Yugi. "So you recognize me now."

"The. Abom-ina-tion. Rec-goni-zes. You."

"You will not speak of him that way!"

The Daleks didn't seem as intimidated this time, merely rolling forward. "We. Un-der-stand. Why. You. De-fend. Him. It. Is. The. Emo-tion. Lo-ve."

Yugi felt the Pharaoh's arms loosen around him for a moment before the Time Lord caught himself. "And what do you know about love?"

"Pharaoh." Yugi pushed himself away from the Time Lord, wobbling but standing on his own. "They're different. That one with the black casing there and they have names."

"Names."

The Dalek with the black casing moved forward. "I am Dalek Sek."

"Dalek Jast."

"Dalek Caan."

"Dalek Thay."

The Pharaoh stared at them all, Yugi reaching out to brush his fingers over the Pharaoh's hand, only to have the Time Lord start. "The Cult of Skaro. I always thought that you were just a legend."

"We. Were. Crea-ted. To. Stu-dy. Our. Ene-mies. To. Learn. To. Think!"

"But Daleks don't."

The Pharaoh looked back at Yugi, taking his hand carefully and pulling Yugi close to him. "That's why the Cult was created Yugi. They wanted to understand their enemies, so they could discover new ways of killing them."

He gave a short laugh. "Extermination isn't enough?"

The Time Lord just gave him a soft smile before pulling Yugi into a hug, holding him close as he turned to face the Daleks, Yugi watching Sek carefully. "You. Des-troyed. The. Da-leks. Now. Watch. Us. Rise."

"Time. Lord. Sci-ence. Will. Re-vive. Us." Caan piped up as well, turning back to the Genesis Arc and moving around it, keeping a careful guard now that the Pharaoh was in the room.

The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes and looked at the Genesis Arc, Yugi feeling him relax a moment later, disappointment on his face. "I don't recognize it, but both sides had their secrets." He glanced up at the Daleks. "I'm giving you this one chance. Get back into your Void Ship and leave."

"The. Da-leks. Will. Be. Re-born."

The Pharaoh sighed and shook his head, pushing Yugi back towards Joey. The human tried to cling to the Pharaoh, wanting the Time Lord to move back with them, to be safe, but the Pharaoh pushed him away. Yugi wrapped his arms around himself and shivered, watching the Daleks carefully as the Pharaoh walked forward. "Then you will be destroyed, as your race was and your Emperor was."

"You. Have. No. Wea-pons."

The Pharaoh fished the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket, waving it in the air before pointing it at the door. "Who said anything about that?"

The door exploded inward when he pressed the button, Yugi thrown back into Joey. In a moment, the Pharaoh was by his side, pulling him close and cradling him. Yugi automatically reached for the Pharaoh's hand, holding it as he peered through the smoke, trying to see what was going on. He yelped as he saw a flash of metal in the smoke, ducking as the first shots were fired. "Delete. Delete."

Yugi pressed himself to the ground, glancing over his shoulder to see Joey slide across the floor to grab a gun that a dead Cyberman had dropped, quickly rolling to the side as a Dalek moved past him, coughing as he watched the battle from below. Yugi jumped as a hand landed on his elbow, looking over his shoulder to see the Pharaoh urging him onward, Yugi nodding and starting to crawl away when he felt the Pharaoh suddenly get yanked away. Yugi gasped and turned around, reaching for the Time Lord, only to have his hand snatched up by another man. He was pushed through the fight and shoved out the doors, turning to look at Daniel as he panted.

"Fall out!" He relaxed as he heard the Pharaoh's voice, turning to look for the Time Lord in the room, letting out a relieved laugh as the Pharaoh slid through the legs of a Cyberman, scrambling quickly out of the way as the metal suit fell backward. The Dalek on the other side stared at the Pharaoh for a moment before it had to turn to defend the Genesis Arc, Yugi standing on his tip-toes to see Joey charging to the door with the rest of the black suited staff.

His breath caught as Joey was shoved to the side, the blonde dropping his gun and reaching out to stop his fall, his hand landing on the Genesis Arc. Yugi saw a faint yellow handprint on the casing of the Arc, biting his lip as Joey shoved himself away from the Genesis Arc and raced towards them, shaking his head as he tumbled out of the door. "Dang it."

"It's not your fault." The Pharaoh pressed his sonic screwdriver against the door, smirking as it slid shut before turning to Joey. "You've drawn them out, which is what I wanted."

"You want those things to be loose."

"For now." The Pharaoh shrugged and turned to run, snatching up Yugi's hand and rushing down the hallway. "Come on, one more person to collect."

Yugi glanced back at the group, watching as Daniel and Joey followed them, the others turning to continue the fight. The door would only hold as long as the Cyberman would hold; and neither species would like the Pharaoh much after that stunt, the Time Lord's blatant sacrifice of the Cyberman a bit surprising to Yugi, but he supposed that it was unavoidable if they wanted to get rid of the Daleks. He flinched at the thought before looking back at the Time Lord. "Where's Mom?"

"We're picking her up next. I wanted her out of the way as long as possible." Yugi just smiled at that, taking a hop step to give him enough time to kiss the Pharaoh's cheek before continuing to run. He glanced back over to the Pharaoh, watching as the Time Lord blushed for a second before the expression of shock disappeared, the Pharaoh squeezing his hand in thanks.

* * *

Junri heard them before she saw them, freezing by the door and looking over her shoulder, towards the stairs. Cybermen were following her, or patrolling the stairs. Either way, she was not about to get caught and hauled back to become one of them. The Pharaoh had promised that they would be alright, and she trusted him. She took a look at the door, praying that she was on the right level. The Time Lord had said that he would come for her while he was down here. She took a deep breath, trying to stop her hands from shaking before she opened the door.

The hallway was dim, some of the lights flickering on and off. Junri bit her lip, taking a few cautious steps down the hall. Perhaps she had missed the level of the Vault, gone another level too far and ended up in the basement. She reached into her pocket to touch her phone, reassuring herself that it was there. If she had messed up, she would just call that number again. Although, there was no guarantee that the Pharaoh would still be at that phone. But there was Yugi's phone, they had called it earlier and it still worked. And then there was the fact that Yugi was a part of the Pharaoh's plan and they needed to keep it quiet.

She bit her lip, looking at the cold grey walls before coming to a decision. They would have an elevator to get down to the Vault, and the Pharaoh would have left as soon as he got off the phone with her. There was a good chance that they could be coming after her already, but she would give it a few minutes just in case. Then, she would call Yugi and ask where they were in relation to her. In the meantime, she would continue to walk, keeping on the hallway that was directly connected to the staircase so she had an escape route. Junri brushed her fingers over the cell phone one more time before resolutely striding forward.

Her resolve diminished the longer she walked, Junri telling herself that it just felt like hours. Her hand strayed back to her phone, Junri glancing down at her watch before deciding to risk it. The mental torture was enough for her; she just wanted to be sure that her son was safe and that they could get out of here. The Pharaoh could stop this on his own; she would be selfish for once and make sure that Yugi stayed alive.

Junri pulled her phone out of her pocket, her fingers fumbling over the numbers as she dialed Yugi's cell phone, her frantic movements stopping as she saw a Cyberman walk out into her hall. She froze, watching in horror as the metal head turned to look at her, the Cyberman turning and walking toward her. "You will be upgraded."

"No! No!" Junri shook her head, holding tightly onto her phone as she backed away. "No, I'm not going back there."

"All humans must be upgraded. All rogue elements will be deleted."

"Get away!" She looked around for something to defend herself with, looking back up at the Cyberman and screaming as it reached for her.

The Cyberman jerked suddenly, twitching in place as something hit it in the back. Junri saw sparks run over the metal casing before the Cyberman fell to the ground, Junri scooting back quickly so that she wouldn't get hit by the falling suit. She raised a hand to her heart, trying to calm it down as she looked up, hoping that it was someone that would help her instead of shooting her next.

Her eyes widened as she stared at the man holding the gun, watching as he lowering it and gasping. He was staring at her, for the first time in over twenty years. It was him. And he had aged, looking about forty-five; a few streaks of grey through his black hair, but his brown eyes were as bright as ever. And seeing him hurt, something that she never expected. She thought that she was over his betrayal, over him; but she wasn't, not at all. "It's you."

He smiled, letting the gun drop to his side. "Hey."

"Oh my God, it's you." Junri stumbled backwards, shaking her head. "You left. You left and never came back. Why are you here?"

"Junri…" He went to take a step forward before stopping, staring at her before shaking his head. "I have no right-"

"Right? What the hell are you talking about?" Junri saw Yugi standing by the Pharaoh, relaxing a bit to see that he was still alive. He was looking between her and his father in surprise, but there was something else in his gaze, a king of longing. She didn't like it for some reason, every instinct telling her that this was wrong. Was he going to take her son from her too? "Yugi?"

"That's not him, Mom." He gave her a soft smile, Junri staring at him confusion. Yugi carefully pulled away from the Pharaoh, never going further than his arm could reach, still holding the Time Lord's hand. "It's not the same man."

"It is he looks and talks like him!"

"Mom, he's from that parallel world; the one where Joey stayed. I told you about it." She nodded slowly, remembering it all too well. She had been frightened that Yugi would have wanted to stay as well, afraid that the Pharaoh was the only reason that he had come back home to her. All his life he had been without a father, and he had found the man who wanted to have a son. Junri swallowed nervously, returning her gaze to the man.

"You said that they couldn't come here." She had thought that they were safe, that Yugi wouldn't be tempted to return because he couldn't go back. But she was wrong. Junri shivered. "You can't have him."

"Junri, honey-"

"No! Don't call me that! Don't sweet talk me! I don't want to hear it." Junri stumbled towards the wall, Yugi breaking from the Pharaoh and running over to her, wrapping his arms around her.

"It's alright, Mom. It's alright." Yugi hugged her close, looking back at the group, resting his head on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I thought you would be happy to see him."

"I…I…" She ducked her head, clinging to him. "I just don't want to fall in love again. I don't want to get hurt."

"It's alright, Mom. I'm here." She felt Yugi turn at someone's approach, looking up to find herself staring at him again, watching as he knelt down in front of her.

He stared at the floor for a moment, shifting nervously before calming down again. "I know I hurt you. I was an idiot and ran. But, in my world, I came back. I came back and saw how much I had hurt the one I loved. And then I had to watch her change from the wonderful woman that I first met to someone who only cared about herself."

"Y-you came back?"

"Yeah. Thankfully I realized what an idiot I was. But it wasn't soon enough." He looked away, staring at the wall. "We never had Yugi, he never had a chance. She decided that he was the reason that I ran away was because of the baby instead of my own cowardice and-"

"Stop!" Junri clung to Yugi, ignoring her son's startled gasp and his attempts to pull her off of him. She didn't want to think about that. "I wouldn't do that!"

"I know." He leaned back with a sigh, running his hand through his hair. "And I'm not asking you to marry me. I just want a chance."

"A chance?"

"To show that I'm better than the man who just left you." He smiled at her, Junri finding herself smiling back. She cautiously let go of Yugi, barely aware that her son was backing away, just looking at the man. It was so hard to look at him without remembering the him from this world, but she assumed that it would be the same for him; so it would be a struggle. And it seemed difficult enough to make her want to refuse, her gaze drifting over to where Yugi was hugging the Pharaoh, her eyes widening as she stared at the Time Lord. Everyone deserved a second chance and she could make this right. She could be happy.

She reached out to take his hand, watching as he started at the motion, finding that she was unable to stop smiling. "Let's start this properly then. I'm Junri Mutou."

"Daniel Greene."

Junri laughed and nodded, standing up slowly and letting go of his hand. "Well, you've already met my son."

"Reckless little scamp."

"Hey!"

"He's right, Yugi." Yugi stuck out his tongue at her and pretended to pout, but Junri could tell that he was having a hard time holding back a smile.

"That was horribly touching," Junri spun around at the sound of a familiar voice, staring at Mai as the blonde leaned against the elevator, "but could we save the romance for later. I've got calls coming in from our people that the Daleks have made it to the storage bays. We can't hold them for long."

"Let them go." The Pharaoh walked over to the elevator, glancing back at the others before nodding. "I'll take care of them. Just have your people ready to jump back on my signal."

"Right. You're the boss." Mai moved back into the elevator, Junri hesitating at the back of the group as they all filed in, working herself into a space by Yugi and the Pharaoh. She didn't feel comfortable enough around Daniel on her own and the fact that Mai was here frightened her. She knew that this had to be Mai from that parallel world, but it was still frightening. She had left the Mai of this world to her dead and was now facing the same person; it was too much like being haunted for her own good.

She felt Yugi take her hand, her son smiling and offering her silent support. Junri leaned against him, staring at the doors of the elevator as they slid shut.

* * *

"Stop in the science bays." The Pharaoh gave the order as Mai went to reach for the buttons on the elevator, the blond woman pausing and looking back up at the Pharaoh. Yugi stared at the Time Lord as well, wondering what the Pharaoh had planned. He had already given the orders to just let the Daleks go, which was strange. He thought that the Pharaoh would have wanted the Daleks to be kept in that room no matter what. Yugi sighed and leaned back against the wall of the elevator, he couldn't tell what the Pharaoh was thinking right now, the Time Lord's face blank. A sure sign that he was about to do something that he would never forgive himself for.

The elevator rocked slightly before it started ascending, Yugi watching the numbers flash in the display, jolting forward as car came to a stop. The Pharaoh moved through the crowd, Yugi following him without hesitation. The Time Lord glanced at him in surprise before turning to look at the others. "Wait here, I'll be back in a moment."

Then he was running down the hall, Yugi at his heels. Yugi winced at the sounds of shots and screams coming from the room ahead of them. He ducked as they reached the doors, watching the Pharaoh peek out, looking at the room before putting on his 3-D glasses and smiling at what he saw. "Perfect. Yugi, stay here."

"But-" The Time Lord was already gone before he could finish, Yugi crouching by the door and watching the Pharaoh sneak through the room, taking cover from the fire by ducking behind boxes. Yugi looked over at the main aisle, shivering as he watched the Daleks progress through the room, one on each side of the Genesis Arc, protecting it and sacrificing their own shielding for it. Yugi could see the flickers of light over their casing as they tried to give a little bit of shielding to themselves, most of their casings already looking dented and warn, a few scorch burns scattered over them.

Yugi swallowed and gripped the door more tightly, watching as some of the people began to retreat, Daniel probably ordering them out. The others from this world's Torchwood remained to fight, Yugi watching as they tumbled over, some dying as they were shot by Daleks and some crushed by dead Cybemen, Yugi ducking his head and feeling tears come to his eyes. He cursed and wiped them away, shaking his head and looking back toward where the Pharaoh was, watching the Time Lord edge toward a table, reaching up to take two huge black metal objects from a box, nearly falling to the floor because of their weight. The Pharaoh struggled for a moment before managing to hold them, breaking into a flat run across the floor.

He was ready at the door, Yugi swinging it open to allow the Pharaoh back in, ducking as a shot slammed into the door above his head. The smell of burning wood hit him, making him scrunch up his nose in distaste, Yugi shaking his head and slowly slipping out of the way of the door, staring at the black objects that the Pharaoh had carried out, reaching out to touch them before looking back at the Pharaoh.

The Time Lord had peeked back into the room, staring at the procession of Daleks. It was only then that Yugi realized that there were no more shots, the Daleks emerging from the firefight victorious. Yugi shook his head and scrambled to stand by the Pharaoh, watching as the Daleks activated the roof switch, Sek rising with the Genesis Arc into the sky. Yugi shivered in fright, glancing at the Pharaoh only to see that the Time Lord was smiling. "Perfect."

"Pharaoh?" The Time Lord just rushed past him, picking up the two objects before rushing back to the elevator. Yugi took one more look at the room before follow him, slipping into the elevator just as the doors were closing, standing by the doors as he watched the others talk.

"The others have been called out."

"Good. The Daleks are above the city." The Pharaoh gave a breathless laugh. "This just might work."

"What, your plan to kill all of humanity?"

"Junri, just trust me." Yugi saw his mother nod, turning around as they reached the top floor. He was the first out, watching as the others filed out, smiling as he saw the Pharaoh struggling with the objects.

"Need help?" He was surprised when the Pharaoh hesitated, Yugi staring at him in surprise. It was only a moment though, something that could have easily been push aside and forgotten. The Pharaoh gave him a smile and handing one of the objects to Yugi, the human taking the weight and following him into the main room, wincing when the Pharaoh just dropped his object onto the floor before rushing over to the window where the others were watching the Dalek and the Genesis Arc rise into the sky.

"There's one thing I don't get, Pharaoh. How is that think Time Lord science?"

The Pharaoh shrugged, Yugi narrowing his eyes before taking a step back. "It's opening."

The others turned to look at him in shock before turning their gaze to the Genesis Arc, watching as a panel slid open to reveal a Dalek calmly waiting inside. It only lasted a moment before the Arc began to push out the Daleks, Yugi's mouth falling over at the sheer amount of Daleks that the Arc held, turning to look at the Pharaoh. The Time Lord had paled, staring at the Arc and shaking his head. "It's a prison. Millions of Daleks stored in there. Time Lord science…bigger on the inside."

Yugi moved to stand at his side, noticing that the Pharaoh was shaking, cautiously laying a hand on his shoulder. "Pharaoh?" He heard a faint whimper from the Time Lord, quickly wrapping his arms around the other in a hug. "Pharaoh, this isn't the Time War. We need your help."

The Pharaoh shook his head before backing away from the window, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the 3-D glasses and handing them to Yugi. Yugi stared at them as the Pharaoh walked out of the office and into the main room. "Put those on. Tell me what you see"

He glanced up at the Time Lord before slipping the glasses on, his mouth falling open as he watched the swirl of green and red particles around the Pharaoh, the particles staying close to him as he moved. "What are those?"

"Particles of the Void. Void stuff." The Pharaoh winced at the name before grabbing his shoulder and turning Yugi around. "We're all coated in it, everyone who has crossed the Void. Joey, Mai, Daniel, the Cybermen…"

"And the Daleks!" Yugi smiled, turning around and watching the Pharaoh smile and nod. The Time Lord gestured toward the blank wall at the other end of the room.

"All we have to do is close off the other holes and open the Void. It'll do the rest, pulling them all in and sealing itself." The Pharaoh nodded before walking over to a computer and leaning over to examine it, Yugi's smile disappearing.

He looked down at himself, watching the particles drift over his own skin before looking back at the Pharaoh. "But we're covered with the stuff too. We'll get pulled in."

"No I won't." The Pharaoh didn't look away from the screen, gesturing at the objects on the floor. "Those clamps will hold. So I'll be fine."

"I said we." That made the Pharaoh look up at him, Yugi taking the 3-D glasses off so he could see the Time Lord's face. He dropped the glasses to the floor, staring at the heartbreak that was on the Pharaoh's face. He shook his head and took a step forward, reaching out to touch the Pharaoh only to have the Time Lord turn away from him. "No. Don't do this."

"Yugi, you'll be safe."

"I'll be trapped! And where will you be?"

He didn't miss the short glance toward the wall, Yugi following the Pharaoh's gaze and looking at the layout of the room. The Pharaoh would be able to pull the first lever up into position, and run across the room without any danger, but the second one was where the problem was. He wouldn't be able to pull that up and get back to the clamp; the Pharaoh would be pulled into the Void with the rest of them. Yugi turned to look back at the Time Lord, shaking his head as the Pharaoh shrugged. "Sometimes I think Time Lords live too long."

"No."

"Yugi-"

"No, no, no. Listen to me, damn it!" Yugi glared at him, reaching up to grab a fistful of his shirt. "I'm your best friend. I'm your partner. I'm not going to let you do this on your own, not when I could save your life."

"I promised your mother that you would be safe."

"I'm safer with you!" The Pharaoh shook his head, Yugi staring at him before shaking his head. He pulled the Pharaoh down into a kiss, feeling the Time Lord tense in surprise. Yugi closed his eyes and pressed up against the Pharaoh, willing the Time Lord to relax, willing him to think over his decision and come up with the right answer. The Pharaoh needed him here.

He felt the Pharaoh relax, sighing as the Time Lord took his hands out of the pockets of his coat, but he didn't put them around Yugi. The human whimpered, adding more pressure into the kiss before he had to pull back for air, blinking at the expression in the Pharaoh's eyes, one of regret and sorrow. He let go of the Pharaoh's shirt, about to ask him a question when Daniel spoke up. "The plan works. Junri?"

Yugi turned and watched his mother nod, Daniel pulling out another button and slipping it over her neck. "Mom!"

"Yugi, we'll be safe there. I'm sure that the Pharaoh can come and find you again."

"He can't Mom! Once we're there, that's it. You'll never get a chance to see any of this again."

Junri hesitated before nodding slowly. "It may be for the best. Who knows what's going to happen after all of this."

"No!" Yugi shook his head and backed up. "I can't go with you. I have to stay here, Mom. I have to help him. The Pharaoh does this all on his own, without ever asking for thanks. I have to be here for him. I can't just let him die!"

"Yugi." He turned as the Pharaoh spoke his name, watching as the Time Lord dropped a chain over his head, feeling the button at the end knock against his chest. He raised his eyes to look at the Pharaoh, shaking his head as the Time Lord leaned forward, hesitating for a moment before kissing him, a quick brush across his lips. "Take care of yourself, Yugi."


	35. The Dead and the Dying

** Chapter Thirty-Four: The Dead and the Dying **

_"Last night I had a dream. I heard a voice and it was calling my name. I told Mum and Dad. And Mickey. Anyone else would think I was mad. Not those three. They believed it. Because they've met The Doctor. So they listened to the dream. And that night, we packed up. Got into Dad's old jeep and off we went. Just like the dream said. Followed the voice. Across the water. Kept on driving hundreds and hundreds of miles. 'Cause he's calling. Here I am, at last. And this is the story of how I died."  
-Rose Tyler_

"No." Yugi felt the world turn around him, reaching out for the Pharaoh as he was yanked back through the Void and into the parallel world, reeling as his feet came to rest on something solid again. He stumbled, trying to keep his balance as he shook his head, looking at the room around him. It was the same as the one that he had just left, but it looked like it had been partially destroyed. He scowled and looked at the others, watching his mother look at him. He shook his head, waiting until all of the others had taken their buttons off before raising his hand to rest over his. "I'm sorry."

He pressed the button, catapulting himself back into his world, stumbling on landing again. Yugi took a deep breath, trying to control himself as he looked for the Pharaoh, finding the Time Lord staring at him in shock. He reached for the button, nearly ripping it off and throwing it back through one of the glass plates of the office, watching the plate shatter and hoping that the Pharaoh got the message. "I'm not leaving."

"But that's your whole family again. You'll never see them."

Yugi shrugged. "You've got to leave home sometime."

"Yugi, you'll be stuck here!"

"Stuck with you, that's not so bad." He smiled, watching as the Pharaoh's eyes widened. Yugi resisted the urge to walk over and hug the Time Lord, knowing that he wasn't completely forgiven for pulling that stunt, but it meant the world to him that the Pharaoh didn't order him back, that the Time Lord gave into his request.

"Change all these numbers to six. It'll seal off the holes." Yugi nodded and dashed to the computer, quickly looking over the screen before beginning to type, moving as fast as he could. As he worked, his gaze strayed to the other computer, watching the security feed. He could hear the Pharaoh moving the clamps, glancing up to see that the Time Lord had positioned them by the walls behind each lever. Yugi smiled and looked back down, sucking in a deep breath as he stared at the screen. "Cybermen on their way up, one floor below us."

That brought the Pharaoh to his side, the two of them staring at the feed. The Time Lord glanced at the clamps before rushing over to put them up on the wall, activating them as he pressed the red button on the base, testing them before rushing over to look at the screen, Yugi jumping back into him as he watched a third Cybermen with a gun stand between the pair and the door.

"You will not pass."

"You will allow us to pass or risk being deleted."

The guard Cyberman pulled itself up before shooting the two, Yugi surprised to see that the suit was shaking, leaning forward as a black streak ran from the eye of the Cyberman, listening to the feminine quality to its voice. "You will not pass. I will fight. I will fight forever."

"Oh Mai." Yugi turned to look at the Pharaoh, watching as the Time Lord shook his head before looking back to the levers. "Ready?"

"Should be." He backed away from the screen to allow the Pharaoh to make the last adjustments, smiling when there was a chime as the system started up. The Pharaoh nodded and backed away, turning to look at the window.

Outside, the Daleks swirled around, stopping their exterminations to turn toward the tower, Yugi's breath catching in his throat. He automatically reached for the fragment, the Pharaoh's hand on his arm stopping him. The human looked up at the Time Lord, the Pharaoh pushing Yugi toward the lever on the right side of the room. "Get ready."

Yugi jogged over to where the lever resting against the floor, on the side closest to the wall. He looked over to the side, the Pharaoh already in position. He nodded, feeling like he should say something, but finding that he couldn't think of anything. He could just stare at the Pharaoh and hope that this would work, because he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this crazy alien. He wanted that forever he had promised to the Pharaoh. He wanted all of time and space as long as the Pharaoh was there. He found himself smiling as the Pharaoh nodded back, the two of them pushing the levers up from the floor, Yugi wincing as his slid into place, already reaching for the clamp on the wall.

His hand closed around the black handle as the suction started up, Yugi shoving his arm through the space and clinging to it with all his might, narrowing his eyes as his bangs knocked against his face, turning to look at the Pharaoh. They flashed each other a smile, Yugi looking back toward the window as it broke, Daleks streaming into the room. He leaned out a bit, yelping and pressing himself back as Cybermen came flying up as well, the final glass panels of Mai's office shattering and the desks thrown to the side as they slammed into them. Yugi gave a relieved laugh as he saw that it was working, his eyes widening as Cyberman joined the Daleks that were pouring through the broken windows, parts of the floor and the walls giving way as the Void exerted its pull.

The room was quickly filled with the screams of Cybermen and Daleks, Yugi looking up as he heard a voice shout, "Emer-gency. Temp-oral. Shift!" but couldn't see the Dalek that had screamed that. He wasn't even sure if he had heard right. He could have shouted and never heard himself, the sound of the pull and the screaming was too loud. But Yugi was still laughing, glad that the plan had worked.

He looked over at the Pharaoh, catching a glimpse of the Time Lord through the rush, his heart pounding faster at the sight of the Pharaoh. With his longer legs, the Pharaoh could partially brace himself against the lever's casing, giving him the ability to turn slightly. The Time Lord had turned to look back at the windows, watching the rush of Cybermen and Daleks as they streamed past him, his red eyes narrowed against the wind. With his hair blowing in the wind, his black coat streaming out behind him, Yugi was sure that the Pharaoh never looked as beautiful as he did then. Yugi got a better hold of his clamp, swallowing harshly. Oh, how he loved the Time Lord.

Yugi started at his own thought, not sure if he had ever actually admitted his love for the Pharaoh, thought or otherwise. He had just existed in that state without ever recognizing it. His smile got wider, Yugi suddenly wanting to shout those three words across the room, but there would be a better time for that. There would be plenty of time for that.

He winced as something hot landed on his leg, Yugi turning to look at the lever, his eyes widening as he watched sparks fly from the lever, the lever slowly sinking back to the floor. He glanced back up at the flow, realizing that they were slowing down. If it stopped, then he and the Pharaoh were dead. Their only chance was to get the lever back up. He let go of the clamp with one hand, reaching for the lever. When he couldn't reach it, he let go entirely, allowing himself to be pulled across the floor before he grabbed onto the lever, using that to hold himself in place.

"Yugi!"

He looked back over at the Pharaoh, the Time Lord's eyes wide and frightened. "I've got to get it back up!"

Without waiting for an answer, he pushed his weight against the lever, struggling to move it back into position. He smiled as it began to rise, feeling the tug of the Void get stronger the higher the lever rose. He narrowed his eyes against the wind watching the base of the lever and waiting for it to lock into place. Yugi grunted as he slammed the lever home again, barely hearing the click before the screaming began again.

He struggled to get a good grip, tightening his hands around the lever until his knuckles were white to keep from behind pulled into the Void, staring at the clamp that was just out of reach. He wouldn't be able to make that, so his only chance was to keep a hold here. Yugi gritted his teeth and held on, glancing under his arm at the Daleks and Cybermen, surprised to see them thinning out. He just had to wait them out and the Void. Then he would be safe. Yugi smiled with relief, turning to look at the Pharaoh.

His smile didn't last long, his fingers slipping over the rubber cover on the top of the lever. He tried to get a better grip, his hands slippery with sweat, Yugi finding that he couldn't look away from the look of horror on the Pharaoh's face. The Time Lord was only hanging on with one arm right now, looking through the flow like he could find a way to dart through and save Yugi. "Yugi, hold on!"

Yugi nodded, watching the last Dalek fly past him, the metal creature careening close to him, making him flinch away, breathing a sigh of relief when it didn't hit him. But the move had cost him; his fingers slipped more. Yugi stared at his fingertips, barely holding onto the lever, having time to look back over to the Pharaoh before his grip slipped from the lever. "No!"

"NO!" He heard the Pharaoh scream, Yugi closing his eyes as he plunged toward the Void, trying not to think about anything, certainly not what he was leaving behind in both worlds. "YUGI!"

His eyes snapped open as he ran into something solid, staring up at Daniel, the man braced against the pull of the Void just in front of the opening. Yugi turned to look at the Pharaoh, reaching out to him before he was pulled into the parallel world and dropped to the floor as Daniel fell.

"Yugi!"

"Yug'!"

He scrambled to his feet, ignoring their shouts and running over to the wall, running his hand over the surface, trying to find a weak spot. It was solid all the way through, Yugi watching as his hand trembled on the wall, swallowing. "Take me back."

Daniel's voice seemed to come from far away. "The Jumpers aren't operational. He did it. It's closed."

The world closed echoed around Yugi's head like a death toll, his resolve breaking as he finally processed the words. This was it, he would never see the Pharaoh again, or the TARDIS. Never travel through time and space. Never see the man he loved.

He broke at that thought, tears running down his cheeks as he leaned against the wall, pressing against it like it would fall over and he would see the Pharaoh on the other side. "Take me back. Please, please, take me back!"

"Yugi…"

"NO! Pharaoh, please. Please, please no. I need him." Yugi slapped the wall with his hand, relishing the sting. It took his mind away from what he had lost for a split second. But it wasn't enough, it would never be enough. "Take me back!"

There was no response from the others, Yugi taking a shuddering breath and leaning against the wall, just sobbing. Who was going to hold the Pharaoh's hand now? Who was going to talk him out of his depression? Who was going to keep him safe and sane when everything was going wrong? Yugi pressed his forehead against the wall, gritting his teeth as he tried to stop his sobs. It wouldn't end like this, it just couldn't.

His sobs were suddenly brought up short by a faint brush over their link, Yugi standing up straight and pressing his cheek to the wall, the link strengthening for a moment before fading. But it was enough, he could still feel the Pharaoh on the other side of the wall, Yugi closing his eyes and concentrating on the link with everything that he had. He ignored the world around him as he tried to send everything that he was feeling, all his love to the Pharaoh in the hopes that he could calm the Time Lord. He could still remember all too well the look of horror on the Pharaoh's face. The Time Lord had to know that he was safe.

Yugi lost himself in the faint swirl of emotions between them, trying his best to keep the link up to full strength only to have it slip from his concentration, Yugi opening his eyes when he realized that his only tie to the Time Lord was fading away. Just a few more moments and it would be gone completely. Yugi shivered at the thought, reaching out with all his strength to the Pharaoh only to have the link disappear completely.

He gasped for breath, going stiff against the wall before sliding down it. He heard shouts from the others, too focused on the faint pulses of sorrow that were coming from the other end, the spaces between them getting longer until they stopped completely, Yugi jolted into the present. He looked up at the people that surrounded him, Joey and Junri kneeling at his side. He trembled for a moment before launching himself at his mother, pressing his face into her shoulder as he cried. "I lost him, Mom. I lost him."

"Oh, Yugi." She didn't say anything else, just stroking his back and rocking him as he sobbed.

* * *

The Pharaoh let his head fall back against the wall, sitting with his back to the white space and staring at the mess of what used to be Mai's office. His eyes slid closed, concentrating all his attention on the link, the link that was horribly broken at one edge. It was painful to even think about it, the Pharaoh opening his eyes a moment later and pushing away from the wall onto his feet. He could feel the frantic scrambling of the TARDIS against his mind, his ship panicked over the sudden lost of her link to Yugi, but he was too lost to respond. He just walked away from the wall, forcing himself to keep walking or he would spend the rest of his lives waiting there in case Yugi came back.

He picked his way through the debris, automatically going to the elevator and riding it down to the level where they had stored the TARDIS. The Pharaoh walked out, ignoring the dead bodies scattered over the floor, absently stepping over them as he searched for the TARDIS. It was the only think that he had left to think about, the only think he could think about. Because, if he got to the TARDIS, he could figure something out and he could go back and get Yugi.

A flash of blue caught his eye, the Pharaoh stopping and turning toward it, finding that the TARDIS had fetched up against some metal beams, vaguely upright. But it was enough for him; he needed to get out of his death trap quickly. He dug his key out of his pocket and walked over to the time machine, fitting the key into the lock and stumbling up to the console, frantically putting in coordinates for space, wanting to get away from all of this. The TARDIS hesitated before obeying his order, the Pharaoh gritting his teeth before forcing the TARDIS to greater speed to get away from Earth before letting her go.

He hesitated in the console room before turning and running for his room, nearly pulling the door off of his hinges as he lunged for paper and a pencil. The Pharaoh hesitated for a moment before turning and running for the library, not hearing the worried hum from the TARDIS as he barged into the room, picking up the books that she had left for him before he was racing for the console room again, dumping everything onto the console before flipping through the books.

The Pharaoh pushed himself to his limit, forcing himself to work faster as he skimmed through the books, theories and equations taking over his thoughts instead of thoughts of Yugi. The latter would hurt too much; the latter would stop him from functioning. He had to keep going, had to keep looking because he would be able to do this. He would be able to find a way to get his companion, his Yugi back. He was a Time Lord; the universe had to bend to his will. He was from the proud planet of Gallifrey, a master of the universe and all the dimensions that were in it. Nothing could stop him.

For the first time in his life, he lost track of time, his time sense shutting off as he worked, his entire mind focused on the problem in front of him. The pile of discarded books grew taller, an equally large pile of paper that was covered in crossed out scribbles following it. When he ran out of books and paper, he turned to the view screen, searching through all of the TARDIS records to find something, anything. There had to be something that could help him or all of this knowledge had no purpose.

Finally, he ran out of sources, ran out of ideas. Everything he had come up with was impossible. No one could survive a trip across the Void without having a hole there waiting for him, and he had sealed up all the holes in the Void. He would have to wait for years until the TARDIS could find one, and that was if he could come up with something that could find them. And even that was turning out to be impossible. Even if he could have done that, there was no guarantee that Yugi would still be alive after all of that time. There was nothing he could do.

The Pharaoh stumbled away from the console at that thought, glancing to the mess that he had made on the floor. He flinched as the TARDIS gently nudged his mind, his time machine trying to console him, but he just shoved her away, getting down on his hands and knees to go through the crumpled pieces of paper, searching for something that he would have missed, some math that he had done wrong. He quickly exhausted that, turning to search through the books against before slumping to the floor, feeling the TARDIS gently probing his mind again. This time, he didn't push her away.

She offered him comfort, the Pharaoh too numb to realize just what she was offering it for. Why did she think that Yugi was lost, there was no reason for that? He would get him back; he would always go back for Yugi. He could get Yugi back. He was a Time Lord.

He was the last of the Time Lords. There was no one to run support for his TARDIS, to help hold the hole open long enough for him to go through and come back. He had killed all of them to save the universe, and he had destroyed his only chance to get Yugi back.

He was sure that he screamed in rage, hearing the sound echoing around the console room, but he didn't remember ever opening his mouth. The Pharaoh stumbled to his feet, pacing around the console, grief and rage running through his mind, taking turns at being in control, but it did nothing to help him. It only reminded him of one thing over and over again.

The universe was cruel.

The Pharaoh stopped on a rotation of the console, staring in shock at the blue cloth that was hung over the railing, trembling as he stared at it. His tentative hold on his control snapped then, the truth of what he had just realized hitting him hard.

Yugi was gone. And he was never coming back.

His knees gave out, the Pharaoh falling to his hands and knees, still shivering as he reached up to hold onto the console, clinging to it for dear life. The Pharaoh choked on a breath of air, something blocking his throat. He coughed, trying to clear the obstruction, his eyes watering before he finally gave in, turning to face the console and sobbing. He felt the TARDIS brush against his mind, refusing to take the comfort that the TARDIS offered him, the time machine understanding before beginning her own morning, the Pharaoh shivering as her keening echoed in the console room and his head. She was mourning Yugi like he was dead, and he might as well be to them, they were both stranded in this universe while Yugi was in the other.

And he had never felt as alone as he had now.

* * *

"There." Namu pulled away, crumpling the paper from the band-aide in his hand and stepping back. "That should do it."

"T-thanks." Miho frowned as her voice trembled. She didn't like being this weak, especially surrounded by women who always acted flustered. It annoyed her to no end, especially today. She had been stuck in the basement as the metal humans had attacked, the men wanting to protect them. She had wanted to point out that she was just a secretary, no one important. It was more important for the others to stay alive, but they had said something about honor and locked them in there. Then she had hours to listen to those women and ponder over how she had once behaved, long enough to have her decide to never act like that again.

And then Namu had come to save the day, bursting into the room and pulling her out as the metal men raided the basement from the other side. They had run back to his apartment, huddling in a closet until they were sure that everything was over. Miho sighed and looked out the window, staring at the clear sky. Everything was over, the metal men gone to wherever they had come from. She bit her lip, staring off at the Kaiba Corporation Tower. "They had something to do with it."

"I know." Namu sighed and flopped on the sofa beside her, reaching out to pull his laptop onto his lap, handing her the remote. Miho took it and turned on the television, flipping quickly to a news channel. She paid little attention to the break that they gave for weather, perking back up as they returned to the news about the attack this afternoon.

"The entire area around Domino City has been swept and reports say that it is clean. Other reports are filtering in from the rest of the world and there have been no sightings of the metal men or the squat creatures. People are advised to be cautious about walking around at night on their own." The reporter cleared his throat and looked around before glancing down. "The list of the dead is being complied, but we have put out an official one on our website."

"Namu!"

"Already on it." She nodded, turning back to the television as he typed in the address.

"From a preliminary search of the Kaiba Corporation Tower, we can be sure that none of the employees or the visitors that day survived. Police have found human remains in one renovated area of the tower, apparently from experiments run on humans by the aliens that appeared. The Executive Board of Kaiba Corporation has nothing to stay on this matter, saying that they rented the building to the company and expected better from them. More people from this foreign company will be coming in to take care of the rest of the damage, but we are not permitted to go inside. That list is the only thing we have."

The man sighed, staring at the ground before looking back up with a smile. "Please keep tuning in for more information. We will keep you updates as soon as things are released."

Miho sat back, shutting off the television and placing the remote on the couch next to her. "Well, that was useless."

"It got us the list of the dead. That's a start." Namu frowned, staring at the header at the top of the page. "All of these people were registered as employees with some English company, but it doesn't have a name."

"What company doesn't have a name?"

"A secret one."

She looked over at him. "You can't be serious."

"I am." Namu glanced at her before scrolling down the page, his eyes widening as he stared at something there. When Miho went to lean over and look, Namu was scrolling again, giving the page a cursory skim before hitting the control and F keys, looking over at her. "Names of your friends?"

"Um…" Miho ran the list over in her mind, flinching before deciding to go with a safe one. She really didn't want to know if any of her close friends were dead, and Mai had completely separated herself from the group when Yugi had disappear. "Mai Kujaku."

He typed in the name, Miho leaning over as they waited for the computer to work. Her mouth dropped open as her name appeared near the top, Miho covering her mouth and shaking her head. "No. Oh no."

"Miho, I'm-" She didn't hear the rest of his sentence, pulling out her phone and calling Joey. Even if they two weren't seeing each other anymore, Joey had the right to know.

She found that she couldn't stand still, getting up from the couch and pacing the floor, letting Namu get back to his searches, missing the thoughtful look that passed over his face. She turned to face the kitchen, tapping her foot as the phone continued to ring, smiling when she got Joey's house phone picked up. No one would be at work after this. "Joey?"

"I think you have the wrong number miss."

Miho froze at that, glancing back at Namu before shaking her head. "No. I'm calling for a Joey Wheeler. This is his number."

"Oh. Oh." Miho felt her stomach twist at the second oh, staring at the wall. "He hasn't been back here for months now. The police called off the search for him. I'm sorry to tell you this, but he's been declared dead."

"Is there…a body?"

"None that they've found. But I'll call you if something comes up. Listen, I'm really sorry."

"No. No, that's fine." Miho hung up the phone, shivering before turning to stare at Namu, not liking the look he was giving her. "J-Joey's dead."

"You're not going to like this, baby." He motioned her over, Miho hesitating before walking to sit by him on the sofa, staring at the screen where his finger was pointing. The phone drowned from her numb fingers as she read the names, her mouth dropping open in shock. Junri Mutou. Yugi Mutou.

"No. No, not Yugi. Oh God, not him too." She swayed in place, shaking her head. She barely recognized the sound of Namu setting down the laptop before he wrapped his arms around her. Miho collapsed into him, sobbing into his shoulder as she clung to him. "It's not fair. It's not."

"I know, baby, I know."

"He's never done anything wrong. And…and they were so nice, but they've have nothing but bad luck and…and…I want him back." She felt Namu tense, too far gone to recognize it. "I want my friends back!"

Namu relaxed, shifting so she could sit in his lap. "Hush, we'll work this out. No one makes my darling cry, no one. I'll get to the bottom of this."

Miho nodded, snuggling closer to him. He kissed the top of her head before going back to his staring. "But I might not have enough power…that's a Prime Minister thing…"

Her grip tightened on him for a moment before she sat up. "Do it."

"What?"

Miho took his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. She couldn't see anything through her veil of tears, but that didn't matter. If Namu could stop this from happening again, then it was worth anything, it was worth everything. "Get yourself elected Prime Minister, I don't care how. Just get the power to stop this."

"Of course, Miho. Of course." He turned his head to kiss her palm. "I'll do anything to keep this from happening again. Besides, this country needs a competent leader, it has for a while."

"Thank you." She collapsed into his arms again, Namu kissing her forehead before picking her up and carrying her to their bedroom. He settled her on the bed, pulling back the covers before slipping her underneath them, following her under and cuddling her close. "Thank you."

"Anything for you, my darling. Anything for you."

* * *

 _"Yugi." He smiled at the familiar voice, hating himself for turning around. When he woke up, he would remember all of this, and he would still feel that ache. He could mentally touch were his bonds with the Pharaoh and the TARDIS had been broken, running his mind over the rough edges that never seemed to go away or stop hurting. But he was always so eager for these dreams that weren't dreams. For a moment, the bond would be nearly fixed, proof enough that the Pharaoh was trying to contact him and could only reach him like this._

 _He turned around to look at the Time Lord, watching the Pharaoh take a deep breath before shaking his head. "Oh Yugi."_

 _"Yeah, I know."_

 _"What's happened to you?"_

 _Yugi shrugged, settling himself down on the ground, tangling his fingers in the apple grass. "It's been hard."_

 _"I only saw you…"_

 _The pause indicated that Yugi needed to fill in the gap, the human smiling at the Pharaoh. "Seven days ago."_

 _"A week?" The Pharaoh stared at him before reaching out to touch him, Yugi doing nothing to close the distance between them. He didn't want to hurt anymore, but he hated this distance. The Pharaoh stared at him a while more before he sighed and flopped down beside Yugi. "This world moves faster than ours."_

 _"Really? It's been dragging along for me."_

 _He gasped as the Pharaoh took his hand, feeling the link flare to life again. Yugi closed his eyes, gently testing the link before leaning towards the Pharaoh, the two of them clinging to each other. Yugi rested his head on the Pharaoh's shoulder, shivering as the Time Lord stroked his back. "Yugi, what have I done to you?"_

 _"Nothing. I did it to myself. I should have listened to you. Then I wouldn't be here."_

 _"That doesn't matter now." The Pharaoh pulled him back, brushing Yugi's bang from his face before running a finger down Yugi's cheek. "You've lost weight and those bags…"_

 _"I know."_

 _"You've never told me what happened when you got here."_

 _"And I probably won't." Yugi gave a half-hearted smile. "I don't want you worrying about me, Pharaoh."_

 _"I still do, Yugi." The Pharaoh sighed and rested his forehead against Yugi's. "I don't have long."_

 _"You never do."_

 _The Pharaoh smiled at that. "I wish I had longer. I live for these moments."_

 _"I do too."_

 _"I just wish-" The Pharaoh cut himself off with a shake of his head, looking at Yugi. "You still following those instructions I gave you?"_

 _"Yeah, we'll be there just on time."_

 _"Good. Good…" The Pharaoh's outline faded, Yugi panicking and holding him tighter, feeling the tears come. They came every time and he could never stop them._

 _"Please don't leave me!"_

 _"Yugi." And then he was gone, Yugi falling forward to land face first on the apple grass, picking himself up onto his hands and knees to watch as the lawn itself dissolved into nothing. He ducked his head, tears running down his cheeks as the dream fragmented._

Yugi woke slowly, blinking as he stared at place he was in, turning his head slightly to see a red-headed woman bustling around before allowing his eyes to fall shut again. He wouldn't be falling back asleep again, he knew that much. They were too close, he could feel it. Yugi took a deep breath; clenching his eyes shut tighter at the clean oxygen he breathed it, recognizing it after many uses. It was only then that he registered the oxygen mask on his face. So it was a bad one this time. Yugi sighed, turning his head to the other side.

As soon as he had walked away from that wall, everything had fallen to pieces. He had collapsed, lost consciousness and spent a week in the hospital only to come home and lose weight. He hadn't stopped eating completely, but he had lost interest in large meals, resorting to snacking through the day. There were days when he would be alright, days he would be a crying mess and days when he wouldn't get out of bed. And then there were the days when he couldn't get out of bed. Ever since he walked away from that wall, his health had been horrible.

Junri wasn't affected and neither was Joey, which meant that it had to do with his intimate bond with the Pharaoh and how it had abruptly been cut off. Yugi was willing to take that as an explanation, but he was tired of collapsing randomly and waking up to the beeping of hospital equipment. And he was tired of worrying his mother. He was just tired all the time, his sleep pattern ruined to. There were days that he couldn't sleep and days that he couldn't keep his eyes open. And when he did dream, he was falling away from the Pharaoh again, falling into the Void. He had been happy when the Pharaoh had started showing up in his dreams, coaxing him to go and find this one place. To his surprise, his family had listened.

Daniel had packed them all up in the van, leaving Mai behind to run Torchwood, and had started to drive them away under Yugi's direction. The only person that was completely baffled by the sudden move was Serenity, Yugi opening his eyes and looking at the young woman as she bustled around where he was laying in the back. Serenity had come along as his nurse, the job she usually held at the house behind the game shop.

"Yugi, oh thank heavens." She hurried over to him, kneeling at his side and taking the oxygen mask away, Yugi coughing for a moment before sitting up, the world spinning around him.

"How bad was it?"

"Bad." Serenity stood up, nervously wiping her hands on a towel. "You just collapsed and started twitching. We thought it was a seizure, but it's never happened before and there were no other signs of it. And then you just stopped breathing."

Yugi winced, glancing out to the rest of the van, surprised to see that no one else was there. He turned to look at Serenity, watching as she reached for his coat, helping him slip it on. "Now, I have no idea what is out here or why you insisted on going now; but it's almost time."

He nodded, swinging his legs from the makeshift bed and moving to the door, sliding it open and looking at the cold beach they were on. Yugi shivered, reaching up to pull his coat more tightly around him before looking back at the nurse. "Thanks, Serenity."

"You're welcome. I just…I hope that this fixes you."

"Yeah, you and me both." Yugi hopped down into the sand, walking around the van, having to use the side to steady himself. He stumbled as he rounded the back, feeling someone catch him, looking up to find Joey peering down at him. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." Joey helped him upright, holding him steady as Yugi tried to get his balance. "You sure you want to do this, Yug'?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." He gave Joey a smile, trying to convince his friend to see through the year and a half of him being in and out of the hospital. It didn't work, Joey just watching him worriedly. Yugi shook his head and tried to laugh, the sound seeming hollow to him. "I'm fine, Joey. Everything gets worse before it gets better."

"I just don't want to find you dead one day Yug'. And please don't say that you want that."

"I don't, Joey, I don't. I want to live as much as the next guy. I just would rather not live like this." He motioned at himself before giving another smile. "Where are Mom and Dan-Dad?"

It still sounded odd to him, calling Daniel Dad and Solomon Grandpa, but he was adjusting. After all the hours they spent hovering over his bed in the hospital they did feel like they were related to him. And he had never seen his mother so happy. If it wasn't for him, she would have been glowing, Yugi wincing at the thought. It wasn't fair to her having to worry about him; she should be enjoying her marriage and the life it brought her. Instead, she was spending her nights beside his bed at their home or the hospital.

He walked around the corner of the van, waving at Junri and Daniel before turning out towards the beach, barely noticing the rocks or the waves. He was looking for something more important. For months the Pharaoh had been calling him here for some reason, Yugi forcing himself onward despite the way his legs were shaking. Cautiously, he prodded the fragment from its dormant state, taking a quick look at the world with its help before letting it go, a bit disturbed by how quickly it fell back into sleep.

There was indeed something here, and he was walking straight towards it. But that something had to be what he was looking for. It was only a matter of time before he saw it.

Yugi turned to look back at his parents, noticing the strained look on all of their faces, making sure to give them a smile to let them know that he was alright. He had to be alright for their sakes. He turned back around only to come to a quick stop, staring at the sight in front of him.

A section of the beach wavered for a moment before stilling, Yugi holding his breath as something slowly appeared on the beach, staring up into red eyes. He bit back a sob at the translucent form of the Pharaoh, realizing for what it was and shaking his head. "Come to haunt me here?"

"What? Oh, the image, right." The Pharaoh took out the sonic screwdriver and aimed it at something, Yugi assuming it was the TARDIS console. Slowly, the ghostly image of the Pharaoh became solid, Yugi reaching up to touch the Time Lord's cheek only to have the Pharaoh step back. "I'm still just an image."

"So…so you're not coming to get me?" Yugi whispered the words, his gaze dropping to the ground. He had hoped that the Pharaoh would come and rescue him from this life, that he could return to their adventures. But he had been hoping too much apparently. Yugi gritted his teeth and looked up at the Pharaoh, trying not to cry, he had done enough of that already.

"No. It would all collapse and…Yugi what have I done to you?"

He knew what he looked like, deathly pale with bags under his eyes, and he had lost a lot of weight, his clothes hanging loosely on him. Yugi tried to smile, the expression not reaching his eyes. "Nothing."

"Yugi…"

"How long have you got?"

The Time Lord was taken aback, staring at Yugi for a moment before nodding slowly. "About two minutes."

"That long?" Yugi tried not to be disappointed as the Pharaoh nodded, wrapping his arms around himself and shivering. He saw the Pharaoh start forward, trying to come and pull him into a hug before the Time Lord remembered that he wasn't really there either, the Pharaoh taking a half step back, staring at the ground. Yugi couldn't help the laugh that slipped past him at that, shaking his head. "Look at us being awkward around each other. When did that happen?"

Thankfully the Pharaoh didn't answer his question, just smiling at him. Yugi shivered at the smile, hating the way that the Pharaoh's eyes remained solemn and sorrowful. He didn't want to recognize this as the last time they would see each other, he wanted to live under the delusion that the Pharaoh would appear and take him away again. He didn't want to give up on the last hope he was clinging to. He cleared his throat, already feeling tears come to his eyes. "So, what's going on back home?"

"It's only been a few days." The Pharaoh glanced around at where they were for the first time, frowning. "Where are we?"

"Somewhere in Russia, outside of Magadan. It's a little bay whose name I can't even begin to pronounce, but it translates to Dark Game." The Pharaoh gave a choked laugh, Yugi nodding. "Yeah, it's been a year and a half for me."

"A year and…That must have pulled the two worlds out of sync."

"Yeah." Yugi nodded, not really caring, he was just living for the sight of the Pharaoh and the sound of his voice, reaching up to wipe the tears from his face and wishing that the Pharaoh was the one doing it. "So, have we been declared dead yet?"

The Pharaoh stared at him before nodding slowly. "All of you."

"Well, here we are, the living dead."

"Don't say that." Yugi was taken aback as the Pharaoh snapped, the Time Lord looking embarrassed. He turned his gaze to the group behind them, staring at them. "Looks like everyone is alright."

"Yeah, everyone is good. Grandpa, Joey, Serenity, Mai, Mom, Dad and the baby."

The Pharaoh did a double take. "She's not."

"Yeah, three months now." Yugi shrugged as the Pharaoh turned back to look at him. "They had their wedding sometime this year. I couldn't come, I was comatose."

"Yugi…"

"It was as small private thing, just to see if they could work like this. If it does work, they'll have a bigger public wedding so that Grandpa and I can come." He couldn't smile at that, staring up at the Pharaoh before shaking his head. "We never imagined this happening, huh?"

"Oh, Yugi."

"The thing is I wouldn't trade any of it for the world."

That brought an almost true smile to the Time Lord's face, the Pharaoh nodding. "Me neither. Not a second."

Yugi nodded, staring out into the cold sea and swallowing harshly. The Pharaoh wasn't coming through to get him, which meant that this was his one chance to say it. He had been hoping to be able to say it when the Pharaoh had returned to help him back home, but that chance was gone, that life was gone. He had to get adjusted here, his medical problems aside. He glanced up at the Pharaoh, quickly wiping the tears from his face. "I-I…I love you."

The Pharaoh was surprised by that, his eyes going wide for a moment before he just smiled, Yugi seeing tears running down his cheeks. "Yugi…"

"Please."

He nodded, understanding what Yugi was asking for. "I suppose, if this is my last chance to say it, Yugi Mutou-"

The Pharaoh faded from sight, Yugi staring at the spot where the Time Lord's image had one stood, one hand reaching out shakily to touch the place where his hand would have been. Yugi's arm fell back to his side as he swayed in place, the sudden enormity of it all crashing down onto him. He had lost everything, the life he enjoyed and the man he loved. He had lost it all in a mere second and there was no going back. There was no reason to hope anymore.

He fell to his knees on the cold sand, staring straight ahead, his vision blurring with tears. This time, he didn't try to wipe them away; he was allowed to cry now. Yugi leaned forward, resting his weight on his hands and curling them into the sand, needing to feel like he was on something solid in case he drifted away. But maybe drifting away would be a good thing. He would drift right on out of this world, through the Void and into the world where the Pharaoh was. Maybe he would drift right out of his body, leaving behind all the medical problems that had popped up when the links had broken. Maybe he would just keel over and never wake up again, it might be worth it for the pain.

Yugi took a shuddering breath, looking up suddenly as a hand landed on his shoulder. He stared up at Junri before launching himself at her, holding her close as he sobbed. "He's gone, Mom. I lost him."

"I know, sweetheart."

"I loved him."

Junri's gentle rocking stopped for a moment before she continued, Yugi too far gone to realize that. He just held onto her, whimpering as Daniel came to pick him up, carrying him back to the van. He was placed in one of the seats, probably the one closest to all of the supplies incase he keeled over again, Junri scrambling in beside him instead of Serenity. Yugi reached for her again, pulling his mother close and clinging to her as Daniel started up the van and began the long drive back to Japan

TO BE CONTINUED


End file.
